You Are the Weakest Link
Just ask Richard Cooper.
Though Theresa Cooper had moved out of the home and into a flat of her own, there was an invisible bond between her and her husband — or at least, that is what Richard Cooper thought.
Richard spent a lot of time in Theresa’s flat. So much time, in fact, that Theresa never thought twice about him being alone in her home. She also never suspected he intercepted a letter written by her lover.
Richard and Theresa were having marital problems, but weren’t they trying to work things out? Her living in another place was just a temporary situation as far as Richard was concerned.
But… this letter from her ex-lover, Christopher Sindall, could disrupt their reconciliation.
Day after day, Richard would imagine Theresa in Chris’s arms. Something had to be done. He approached Clive Gray, a colleague, asking if he knew how to kill someone for money. Gray replied sarcastically that he did, but nothing came of it.
Richard needed more evidence. He was sure Theresa was cheating on him and could prove it. While Theresa was out, he taped a voice activated recorder under her table and left her flat.
Later, Theresa invited Chris to her home. While she changed clothes, Chris heated water for tea. Richard could hear on the tape that tea never came. Instead, there were muffled sounds.
Richard sat in a pub and replayed the tape over and over. The more he played it, the more sure he was that she was unfaithful. Not only that, but she talked to Chris about their relationship. It was as if she couldn’t care less about him. How dare she? He was enraged.
He ran to her flat and confronted her. She refused to deny the affair, but also acted as if it were none of his business. He threatened to play the taped evidence to her, then to publicly embarrass her by playing the tape.
Instead of shame, anger consumed Theresa. She grabbed a knife and told him, “Go ahead, play the tape!”.
Things were getting heated. They struggled and Theresa dropped the knife. As they dove to get it, her clothes ripped. Her body was positioned just perfectly… his hands slid around her neck and as he choked her, she whispered, “I’ll always love you, Chris!”.
He just looked at his wife as he continued to strangle her.
“You are the weakest link — Goodbye.” he shouted to her lifeless body. She had given up the struggle. She lay dead in his grasp.
Later…
This could have been the end of a sad and tragic story. But it’s not.
You see, Richard, in all his rage, forgot about the recorder. All the while he taunted his wife — all the while he murdered her — his recorder taped him.
And to quote Paul Harvey — “Now, you know the rest of the story.”
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