THE BLAZE
An Oklahoma man could face the death penalty for allegedly raping and murdering an 18-year-old star athlete and student. The district attorney described the crimes as “especially heinous, atrocious and cruel.”
As Blaze News previously reported, 18-year-old Madeline Bills was found dead in her bedroom by her family on April 22, 2023. The bedroom was a converted pool house that was separate from the main home.
An autopsy found that Madeline had died from being strangled.
Bills considered moving back into the main house because she was terrified of her ex-boyfriend.
Moore Police Department Lt. Wes Yost told KWTV-DT, “She was so scared of him that she talked to friends about going into the main residence and not staying in the pool house.”
Investigators said surveillance cameras caught her ex-boyfriend traveling approximately two miles away from Bill’s home the night before she was murdered.
A neighbor’s surveillance camera spotted an “unknown” suspect climbing the fence and entering the Bills’ property around 4:38 a.m., according to the detective’s affidavit.
Detectives said the suspect left Bills’ backyard roughly 90 seconds after he initially entered the property.
Video shows the likely vehicle of the ex-boyfriend – 20-year-old Chace Cook – driving in front of the Bills’ residence at approximately 6:34 a.m., police said.
The suspect allegedly climbed the fence at 6:42 a.m. and went toward the pool house. At 7:17 a.m., the suspect was reportedly seen on video leaving the backyard by climbing back over the fence.
Law enforcement questioned Cook at the More Police Department on April 25, and collected a DNA sample.
Police executed a search warrant on Cook’s vehicle, and officers found clothing and his cell phone.
A detective wrote, “Upon review of the content, it was discovered Cook’s cell phone was in the area of the victim’s residence during the time the surveillance video shows the unknown person climbing over the fence.”
Investigators found a video on Cook’s cell phone that appeared to show him “having sex with the victim, who appears to be unconscious,” according to the affidavit.
Police arrested Cook in May 2023. He was charged with the rape and murder of Madeline Bills.
The District 21 District Attorney’s Office filed a Bill of Particulars seeking the death penalty for Cook – a decision that “was not made lightly.”
“After reviewing the evidence of the case and speaking to the family it is our position that the death penalty is a fair and just punishment to seek in light of this defendant’s crimes,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Our priority is to seek justice for Madeline Bills and our hearts go out to her family and friends as they continue to grieve.”
