SCN Obtains Video from McCreary Death Investigations
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
SCN Obtains Video from McCreary Death Investigations
By Shane Gilreath
SCN Contributing Editor
[email protected]
Often, SCN becomes aware of incidents across the region that, for various reasons, are not immediately pursued for publication. Last week, however, one such case returned to the forefront after an anonymous source provided SCN with surveillance footage connected to the death investigation of a McCreary County man.
According to Kentucky State Police Post 11 in London, troopers responded to a disturbance call on Patterson Drive in the Strunk community around 12:30AM on April 7, 2026. Upon arrival, officers located 60-year-old Gene Cooper of Whitley City unresponsive at the residence.
Gene Cooper
KSP Officers and emergency personnel attempted life-saving measures before Cooper was pronounced dead at 3:07AM by the McCreary County Coroner’s Office.
In an official statement, KSP said the preliminary investigation indicated Cooper had arrived at the residence and became involved in a verbal and physical altercation with another male at the home, during which Cooper sustained fatal injuries. While the investigation remains active, the anonymous source told SCN that Cooper’s autopsy findings classified the death as a homicide resulting from blunt force trauma. SCN has not independently verified those findings.
SCN, however, reviewed surveillance footage said to depict portions of the incident leading to Cooper’s death. The footage appeared to show a prolonged disturbance outside the McCreary residence prior to a physical confrontation occurring on the porch of the home. Audio from the recording also suggests that a 911 call had been placed before the altercation escalated.
Because the case remains under investigation and could ultimately proceed through the court system, SCN is choosing not to publish portions of the footage or provide a detailed account of all events depicted in the recording. However, the footage reviewed by SCN appears generally consistent with aspects of the information provided by the anonymous source and KSP regarding the confrontation.
At this time, no public announcement regarding criminal charges has been made by KSP or the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is encouraged to contact KSP. Detective Samuel Peace continues to lead the investigation with assistance from local emergency agencies.
