Family, expert react as Kerry Max Cook cleared of 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards

Published 5:45 am Saturday, June 22, 2024

Family and friends of the victim and a case expert shared their perspectives after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared Kerry Max Cook innocent in the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards.

“Crimes of this nature were surely not typical in our city nor in the nice apartment complex where she lived. There were rumors and discussions, and most of us had no idea of the credibility of those,” Tyler resident Brenda Cagle said. “When [Cook] was accused and convicted, questions remained but most hoped the crime was solved and justice done.”

Cook, a former Jacksonville resident, spent 20 years on death row for the murder after his fingerprint was found on Edwards’ patio door. However, he always claimed that another man, James Mayfield, who was having an affair with Edwards, was the real culprit.

The ruling ends with what Judge Bert Richardson called in the majority opinion a “winding legal odyssey” stretching 40 years “marked by bookends of deception.”

Cynthia Edwards, the wife of Linda Jo’s brother Jimmy, said she’s glad an innocent man is no longer being accused of the crime, but it also means the real killer got away and may still be on the streets somewhere.

After decades of asserting he didn’t commit the crime, Cynthia Edwards said Cook has earned his freedom and is “bound” to be innocent.

The murder affected the family hard, Edwards said. Jimmy has battled depression since his sister’s murder, and it continues to be a difficult situation. She knows the impact the murder had on her husband’s family but thinks about how Cook’s family must have felt all these years, too.

“Something didn’t go right. They had the wrong man all these years,” Edwards said. “They sentenced him to death … Two innocent people could have [been killed].”

Edwards said when Cook was initially convicted, the family believed he was guilty. However, as the years have passed and with the innocent ruling, now they think there is someone else who’s responsible for the murder.

Vanessa Curry, an author and journalist who spent a decade at the Tyler Morning Telegraph, covered the capital murder case in the 1990s, navigating through mistrials, guilty verdicts, reversals and plea deals.

“There’s so many twists and turns,” Curry said. “I can’t even imagine how [Linda Jo’s family] feel about this, but I compare that to Kerry Max Cook. How would you feel if you felt that you did not commit a crime and you have to wait 40 years for someone to agree with you?”

The case left such an impact on Curry that for 10 years, she’s been writing a book titled “Lies and Consequences.” The book tells the story of the case from the perspective of a journalist who attended hearings, examined court records and interviewed key figures.

“There are some not very well-known secrets about this case being revealed in the book,” Curry said. “It really makes you start thinking about things, and it complicates things even more.”

The murder sparked conversations in Tyler, the state of Texas, and the nation when it happened, and it still piques curiosity among people even decades later. There were two clear viewpoints: those who thought Cook was guilty and those who didn’t.

Others remain impartial, even years later. Curry said the case still generated a lot of controversy. Errors in this trial were not revealed until years or decades later.

The majority opinion stated “the prosecution withheld favorable evidence and much of the evidence presented in the 1978 trial was later revealed to be false,” and “several actions of the state go beyond gross negligence and reach into the realm of intentional deception.”

Curry added there are many unanswered questions about what happened to Linda Jo, which may never be resolved now that key players have passed away and evidence has degraded.

Cagle described Linda Jo, 21, as a lovely, responsible and professional young woman. She recalled “connecting with her at our first encounter in a positive way.”

Cagle was working at Peoples National Bank in 1977 when she and her supervisor interviewed Linda Jo to replace Cagle’s position at the bank, as seh was transferring to another department.

“The morning that she was to report for her first day of work and to train with me, we were perplexed and worried when she didn’t arrive as the morning went on,” Cagle recalled. “Even in our brief acquaintance, she did not seem to be someone who just wouldn’t come to begin a job without notifying us. Her references were excellent, and she was clearly very responsible and presented herself so professionally.”

Cagle said learning the shocking details the next day through the Tyler Morning Telegraph and other local media was horrific.

Cynthia Edwards added Linda Jo was “a very special person” who was highly educated and “trying to make a good life for herself.”

The murder impacted many people because of who Linda Jo was, and it’s been difficult. However, Edwards finds it easy to accept Cook’s innocence.

“He’s spent his whole life fighting that, you know, and that couldn’t be easy to have to live knowing that you didn’t do crime like that,” Edwards said. “I just want justice for everybody.”

Edwards hopes the case is reopened and investigated so justice can be served for Linda Jo.

“I have always remembered her death with shock and sadness and have felt ongoing sympathy for her family,” Cagle said. “Almost 50 years later, I can’t imagine, for all concerned, the lack of closure that might result in sure justice… which still eludes.”