Cook guilty, sentenced to life

KENNETT, Mo. -- "For nearly two years, my life has been turned upside down... I will never forget the day I got the call that my brother had been killed."

Those were the words spoken by Shannon Smith to Matthew Cook at the Dunklin County Justice Center on Monday morning.

Smith got the opportunity to address Cook in the form of a victim's impact statement, which she read while battling emotions from the witness stand.

Cook was accused in the Feb. 19, 2013, shooting death of Sean Crow, and was subsequently charged with a single count of the Class A felony of first-degree murder, one count of the Class A felony of first degree robbery and two counts of the unclassified felony of armed criminal action.

Cook opted to plead guilty to the charge of first-degree murder on Monday. After being informed of his rights by Judge Fred Copeland, Cook waived his right to a pre-sentence investigation. Copeland promptly sentenced Cook to life in prison "with no possibility of probation or parole."

Cook is alleged to have lured Crow to an Advance McDonald's by texting him from a female's cellular phone.

Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver had initially pursued a death sentence for Cook; but made the decision to offer life in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.

"The primary reason why, is because much of our theory behind seeking the death penalty is that Cook lured Crow to the location through text messages," Oliver explained. "Many parts of our case against Cook that would have supported a jury's verdict for the death penalty could have only been established by the testimony of co-defendant (accomplice) Glen Scott Evans. Obviously, Mr. Evans did not cooperate with us, and we were forced to try Mr. Evans' case to a Cape Girardeau County jury last April."

Evans, of Dexter, received a sentence of 25 years in prison for his role as Cook's accomplice on May 5, 2014. Evans was convicted of second-degree murder as a result of assault and/or robbery. Evans was accused of facilitating Crow's death by driving Cook to the scene of the crime.

"Since Mr. Evans is now serving a 25-year sentence for his role in Mr. Crow's death, he will not be testifying on behalf of the state," Oliver explained. "Without Mr. Evans' testimony, the jury wouldn't have heard much of the story of how the victim was lured to McDonald's through text messages masquerading as a female, as the texts were deleted from the phone. The jury would not have heard much of the story leading up to the murder, simply because we did not have a witness to tell that story, because Mr. Evans refused to testify on behalf of the state."

According to the timeline established by investigators through video surveillance, the shooting took place at 7:12 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2013. Crow's body was not discovered in his truck until the late morning hours of Wednesday, Feb. 20, dead of a single shot to the head from a .22-caliber pistol.

"One thing I cannot get over is how my brother was left, slumped over in his truck, for 16 hours, like his life didn't mean anything," Smith said to Cook prior to his sentencing. She went on to recall how fondly she, and everyone else in her family, would always remember Crow, and the way he made everyone -- including her children -- smile whenever he was around.

Oliver informed Judge Copeland that the three other counts facing Cook were being dropped by the state, in lieu of Cook's guilty plea.

"In addition to the complications to our ability to seek the death penalty caused by Mr. Evans' non-cooperation, the wishes and desires of Sean Crow's family to have closure on the matter and not face the decades of appeals and waiting that accompanies death penalty verdicts was a very important factor we considered," Oliver remarked in a statement. "This way, the family knows today -- without a doubt -- Matt Cook will never take a single step as a free man for the rest of his life."

"Knowing that Mr. Cook will spend the rest of his life in prison will help my family get on with the rest of our lives; but it will not bring my brother back to us," Smith said at the close of her statement. "I hope Mr. Cook thinks about Sean every single day for the rest of his life."