Iredell County man charged with murder after three bodies found in burned Statesville house

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 22, 2021

STATESVILLE (AP) — A North Carolina man has been charged with murder and arson in connection with the discovery of three bodies after a house fire over the summer, a sheriff’s office said Thursday.

Corey Alexander Cook, 21, was arrested by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office and charged with murder and first-degree arson, the Statesville Record & Landmark reported. A magistrate ordered Cook held without bond. It wasn’t immediately known if Cook has an attorney.

In July, the sheriff’s office said three people were in the house when the fire broke out and that there was a “domestic situation” hours before the fire, leading an adult son to leave the house. That adult son later appeared at his grandmother’s house in Mooresville, prompting an investigation at that home and where the fire occurred, the sheriff’s office said.

Officials initially reported two people were killed in the fire, but they said one day later that a third body had been found in the home. The victims were identified as Cook’s father, Johnny Bryan Cook; his mother, Angela Dawn Cook; and brother, J.T. Cook.

Corey Cook is also charged with 17 counts of felony identity theft after an investigation revealed he used the victims’ financial cards to get money.