Arkansan serving 35 years for rape dies after acting 'abnormally' at prison, agency says

Jody Cook
Jody Cook

A 41-year-old inmate acting “abnormally” Sunday night was transported to a local hospital, where he died Monday morning, according to the Arkansas Department of Correction.

In a statement, department spokesman Solomon Graves said Jody Cook was seen behaving strangely around 10 p.m. in his assigned barrack at the Varner Unit in Grady, which is about 23 miles southeast of Pine Bluff.

Cook was then sent to the prison’s infirmary and later to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to the agency.

He was serving a 35-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2007 to the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2004 and two counts of failure to appear in court, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. Cook also admitted to faking a bridge jump at the time he faced charges in an effort to make it appear that he had died.

Graves said Arkansas State Police were immediately notified of the death and will be conducting an investigation.

Read Tuesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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