An Oklahoma high school basketball player was found dead at her home. The girl’s ex-boyfriend has been charged with rape and allegedly filmed the sexual assault while the star athlete was unconscious, according to police.
Madeline Bills was just weeks away from graduating Moore High School with honors when her family found the 18-year-old dead on April 22. Bills’ family reportedly found Madeline’s body in her room located inside a pool house that was separate from the main home.
Before her sudden death, the high school senior allegedly told friends that she planned to move back to the main house because she was terrified of her ex-boyfriend, according to police.
“She was so scared of him that she talked to friends about going into the main residence and not staying in the pool house,” Moore police Lt. Wes Yost told KWTV-DT.
On Monday, police arrested 19-year-old Chace A. Cook at the Navy’s basic training center in northern Illinois. Madeline’s ex-boyfriend was charged with first-degree rape. Cook is expected to be extradited back to Oklahoma.
Cook alleged that he was out of state the day Bills died. However, video footage caught Cook jumping the fence several times to gain access to the pool house where Madeline lived, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Cook’s Ford Fusion was spotted driving away from Bills’ home the night she died by surveillance cameras, according to court documents.
“Following different leads, we applied and executed a few different search warrants, trying to find more evidence of what occurred,” Yost explained.
The New York Post reported, “Police collected his DNA at the scene and also took his car and clothes as evidence.”
The senior high school basketball player’s cause of death is still under investigation.
“The Moore Police Department anticipates additional charges for Mr. Cook upon completion of the Medical Examiner’s report,” the Moore Police Department told KFOR-TV.
Yost said, “In these times, it’s always sad when you have a crime like this one that has occurred, and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and her friends, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to find justice for Madeline.”
Bills was a member of the Osage Tribe and had signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Northeastern A&M in Miami, Oklahoma. Madeline had achieved a 4.0 GPA.
Madeline’s former basketball coach, Stephanie Brady, said that the young woman’s “legacy has just begun, and it’s going to continue because we’re talking about her and the way that she lived.”
“She didn’t live like other people. She lived differently, and she carried a light, and she made an impact on literally every single person that she came in contact with,” Brady told KOCO-TV. “Selfless and servant-hearted, Brady said she outworked everyone in the room to be a star student and athlete. She literally is every coach’s dream, every teacher’s dream. There’s no one like her,” Brady added.
The teen’s obituary read, “In her short time given here on earth, Madeline made an incredible impact on many lives. She had a personality that would light up any room.”
“She was an advocate for others, especially those that had their own challenges in life,” the obituary added. “Madeline had an uncanny ability to bring truth to light, which was astonishing for a person of her age.”
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Moore Community Mourns 18-Year-Old; Police Investigate ‘Suspicious Death’www.youtube.com