Brad Cooper getting a second public defender

Raleigh, N.C. — A Cary man charged in the July slaying of his wife will have another public defender helping with his case.

Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens granted a motion Thursday from Brad Cooper's attorney, Howard Kurtz, for additional counsel.

Kurtz said that with the volume of discovery material in the case, his client feels the addition of a second attorney would aid in his trial.

Cooper, 35, is charged with murder in the July 12 death of his wife, Nancy Cooper. She was found in an undeveloped subdivision approximately three miles from the couple's home in Cary's Lochmere neighborhood.

An autopsy found she had likely been strangled.

Brad Cooper was arrested in October and has been in the Wake County jail without bond. If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole.

Wake County Assistant District Attorney Howard Cummings on Thursday objected to Kurtz's motion and asked Stephens to deny it.