Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 22, 1993 TAG: 9306220232
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The windows in Lelia Cook's three-bedroom, government-subsidized apartment were shot out after she appeared on CBS News' "48 Hours" on June 9, Fire Marshall Harold J. Beavers Jr. said.
Last week, drawers were yanked out of every cabinet, food was dumped from the refrigerator and a pile of clothes was set afire inside Cook's apartment. Scrawled on her dining room wall were the words "48 HOUR B----," Beavers said.
"If I lived there, I'd take it as a pretty strong message," he said.
Cook moved the day after the show aired because of the threats, an official of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority said. Cook could not be reached.
The "48 Hours" episode depicted Cook's life as a single mother of four in Richmond's Blackwell neighborhood, which is known for drug trafficking.
"It's unfortunate when a mother chooses to express concern for the safety of her children and she becomes a victim of a violent act," Donna Dees, a spokeswoman for "48 Hours," told WTVR-TV of Richmond.
Neighbors had little sympathy for Cook.
"She wanted to play Five-0 [derogatory street term for police]," said a woman who lives across the street.
"She snitched!" a preschooler said.
"48 Hours" should not have identified Cook, who was not an informer, said Richard C. Gentry, executive of the housing authority that owns Cook's property.
"The lady, as far as I know, is a totally innocent party," he said.
Former Richmond Councilwoman Claudette Black McDaniel, a lifelong Blackwell resident and a friend of Cook, said Cook had had problems with neighbors prior to her appearance on "48 Hours."
by CNB