Richard Charles Cook Jr., 40, was fatally shot on Friday, September 24, 2021, on U.S. Highway 80 in Phenix City, Alabama, in an incident tied to a domestic dispute. Phenix City Police found Cook at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds. Jessica Martin, 35, was critically injured and later died at Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown Hospital, as did her unborn child; officials described the event as a triple murder and suicide.

Witnesses heard gunfire and reported seeing a male suspect flee into nearby woods. Law enforcement identified the man as 47-year-old Jeffrey Lynn Martin and located him at a campsite where he was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Russell County Sheriff’s Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency assisted in the search and secured the woods. The investigation into the circumstances of the domestic violence incident is ongoing.

If anyone witnessed the shooting on U.S. Highway 80 that day or has information about events leading up to the violence, please come forward.