TACOMA, Wash. – An unsolved murder case has been reopened by Tacoma police who want to know if a young woman’s shooting death was committed by alleged Psycho Sniper John Allen Muhammad.
Keenya Cook, 21, was shot in the head Feb. 16 with a large-caliber handgun when she opened the door to her aunt’s house in Tacoma. Her killer or killers were never caught.
But Cook’s relatives – including an aunt who crossed Muhammad shortly before the cold-blooded shooting – believe the killer was either Muhammad or Lee Malvo, Muhammad’s 17-year-old Jamaican sidekick.
“It’s got to be him. Or it’s got to be the little boy,” said Pamala Nichols, Cook’s mother. “Whoever opened the door was going to get shot. It just happened to be my daughter.”
Pamala Nichols swears the duo got their thirst for blood by gunning down her daughter execution-style.
“He killed my child first,” Pamala said. “The idea of knowing him is what hurts. It’s awful.”
Cook’s aunt, Isa Nichols, worked in Tacoma with Muhammad and his second wife Mildred, helping them with what became a failed auto repair business.
Muhammad spent Thanksgiving with the Nichols family at the home of Pamala’s brother. The now-infamous photo of a smiling Muhammad and Malvo was snapped inside Isa’s home, Pamala said.
But when Muhammad’s marriage turned sour, Isa Nichols took Green’s side.
At one point, Muhammad skipped town with their three kids. Isa Nichols helped Green get her children back.
Green then moved in with Isa to avoid Muhammad, Pamala said.
Police believe that series of events may have motivated the killing.
“He is surely a person of interest for us and the FBI,” said Jim Mattheis, spokesman for the Tacoma police.
Once Pamala learned Muhammad was being sought, she got a “gut feeling” and a family member called the FBI hotline on her behalf.
The investigation was initiated and the Tacoma police began re-examining clues, said Mattheis.
“I just want him to get what he deserves,” said Pamala. “And what he deserves is lethal injection.”