A woman accused of stabbing a man to death at a Marietta motel last week fled the state, only to be taken into custody hours later, police announced Friday.
Keiyotta India Cooper, 30, was arrested June 21 in eastern Virginia after a traffic stop. Cooper, who is being held at the Caroline County Jail on unrelated charges, is facing charges of murder, theft by taking and felony aggravated assault in the Cobb County case, according to police.
Authorities said they discovered the body of 37-year-old Dearish Morris at the Hospitality Inn along Delk Road after employees called 911 around 10 p.m. that day. The Marietta man was found dead on a bed “under extremely suspicious circumstances,” officials added.
During the early phases of the investigation, deputies with the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office contacted local detectives to report that Cooper was in custody there and they suspected that she may have been involved in a homicide in Marietta.
“Although investigators from the two agencies were hundreds of miles apart, they were able to piece together the circumstances behind Morris’ death only hours after it occurred,” according to Marietta police.
Authorities said they were able to deduce that Cooper visited Morris at the motel around 4 p.m., and for “reasons unknown,” Cooper fatally stabbed Morris multiple times.
The woman, who police said is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, allegedly did not render aid to the victim and is accused of concealing his death from a hotel representative who knocked on the door to collect payment.
Shortly after, police said Cooper took a vehicle that had been loaned to Morris and left the state. The owner of the vehicle tracked it to Virginia using a GPS device and notified authorities in that state, leading to the eventual traffic stop and arrest.
An investigation into Morris’ death is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Cobb police Detective Reyes at 770-794-5363.
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