Cary, N.C. — Cary’s police chief marked the one-month anniversary of the death of Nancy Cooper on Tuesday by saying the murder will be solved.

“I want to express my absolute confidence that we will solve this terrible crime and bring the person or persons responsible to justice,” Chief Pat Bazemore said in an e-mailed statement.

Bazemore declined to comment on specifics of investigators’ work, but said she’s “very pleased with the progress.”

Cooper, 34, was found dead July 14 in an undeveloped subdivision just outside Cary's town limits. Brad Cooper told police his wife went jogging in the Lochmere area of Cary around 7 a.m. July 12 but never returned home.

A friend reported Nancy Cooper missing later that afternoon after she failed to show up to help paint her dining room.

Since her death, Nancy Cooper's parents and sister have been battling her husband for custody of the couple's two daughters.

In affidavits filed in the custody battle, they claim Brad Cooper is not fit to care for the girls, and have questioned his mental health. On Tuesday, they requested that their motion for a psychiatric examination of Brad Cooper be heard on Sept. 22.

Nancy Cooper's parents and sister were awarded temporary custody of the children on July 25. Another hearing on that matter is scheduled for Oct. 13.