WOODBRIDGE, VA – A community in Woodbridge, Virginia is in mourning following the tragic discovery of a missing mother’s body in a garbage truck. Taty’ana Cooks, 30, provoked concern when she failed to pick up her child from daycare.
According to police, her remains were found in a trash truck that had been halted by law enforcement. Meanwhile, a man, allegedly seen driving Cooks’ car miles away from the scene, has been taken into custody and charged with her murder.
Cooks, a familiar face in her Woodbridge neighborhood, was often seen with her children, causing her absence to be quickly noticed by residents. Her disappearance was reported on Thursday when Cooks failed to retrieve her child from daycare, a move her family deemed out of character.
Lt. Jonathan Perok of the Prince William County Police Department commented on the unusual circumstances surrounding the case. Officers conducted a sweep of Cooks’ second-floor apartment, noting the presence of her personal belongings still within the home. Adding more suspicion to Cooks’ case was the revelation of a past acquaintance of hers driving her vehicle, an act deemed peculiar by Lt. Perok.
The vehicle was spotted in the Newport News and Hampton Roads area. Following the trail of evidence, investigators were led to a dumpster located close to Cooks’ building. While trash had already been collected from the dumpster, detectives successfully intervened with the truck. Cooks’ body was subsequently found within that same truck on Friday.
On finding Cooks’ vehicle, Newport News police arrested the driver, Brendon Devon White, 28. White, whose address matches that of Cooks, is facing murder charges. Lt. Perok confirmed the ties between the accused and the victim, noting that the suspect has been charged with the woman’s death.