Taty’ana Cooks, a 30-year-old mother, had moved on from the father of her 1-year-old son, but had allowed him to stay with them at their Woodbridge, Virginia residence. 

When she didn’t come to pick her tot up from daycare on March 21, her family became instantly worried, rushing to her townhome. They also notified police, who stopped her vehicle the next day, only to find her baby’s father behind the wheel.

“It was concerning from the beginning just because it's unlike a mother to just not pick up her child from day care,” Jonathan Perok of Prince William County police, told NBC Washington Channel 4. “And, all her belongings still being at the home, there were red flags from the start of the investigation that had our concerns.”

“They weren’t together. She was trying to help him out, but he knew he had to find someplace else to live,” Cooks’ aunt, Cassandra Cooks, told the TV station. “She was trying to help somebody, and this is what happened.”

On Friday, March 22, 2024, authorities, looking for any signs of her belongings, stopped a garbage truck that had just finished picking up trash from the street where Cooks lived. Officers found the body of Taty’ana Cooks in the garbage truck.

According to the Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office, Cooks died by strangulation.

Law enforcement has arrested Brendon Devon White, 28, the father of Cooks’ baby son, and charged him with murder. He has a scheduled court hearing on June 14, according to jail records.

According to news outlets, which cite court papers, Cooks’ body was found inside a suitcase, the same one she was packing for a planned birthday trip with her aunt. Cooks was to turn 31 on Tuesday, March 26, according to the TV station.

Despite the tragedy, the victim’s family remembers her for all the good she brought to their lives and that of her child.

“She loved her son. She was an excellent mom, actually,” Cassandra Cooks told the station. “She was teaching him to be kind and gentle.”

“She liked to go on vacations with me. She loved to take pictures,” Cassandra Cooks said. “She was very family oriented. She was open and very kind, and she would help anyone.”

Although the family never suspected that White would be abusive, news outlets have uncovered a past of domestic violence: In 2018, he was arrested and charged with attempted strangulation of a woman he was romantically involved with and had a baby with.

In that incident, White allegedly grabbed the woman and pointed a gun to her head and said, “I was planning on killing you all day anyway,”, according to the 2018 charging documents cited by the Virginia-Pilot newspaper. “Write your own suicide note and make it easier on me.”

The evil scourge of domestic violence continues to plague the lives of black women in this country.

Four black women/girls are murdered every day in the United States.If we omit the fatalities, multiple scientific studies have concluded that black women endure higher rates of murder, rape, racism and domestic abuse. 

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A VICTIM!

Read the warning signs of a hurtful relationship.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or practicing self-harm, contact the the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time. Online live chat is also available. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741. If you are experiencing domestic abuse, for assistance, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.