Slain Jogger's Parents Win Custody Ruling

Oct. 22, 2008 — -- The family of Nancy Cooper, who was found murdered more than three months ago near her home in North Carolina, won temporary custody today of her two daughters.

The daughters, 2-year-old Katie and 4-year-old Bella, have been living in Canada with Nancy Cooper's twin sister, Krista, and her parents, Garry and Donna Rentz, since their mother went missing July 12.

The girls will remain there until a subsequent hearing is held to determine permanent custody. A copy of the judge's ruling wasn't immediately available.

"We could not have asked for a more fair or deliberate process and are confident that she acted in the best interest of not just our grandchildren but all children who may be in a similar circumstance," the Rentzes said in a statement released by the police department in Cary, N.C.

Calls that ABCNews.com made to lawyers for Cooper's husband, Brad Cooper, were not immediately returned.

Seth Blum, one of Cooper's attorneys, told ABC News affiliate WDTV reporter Ed Crump that his client is innocent is still deciding whether to appeal the custody decision.

Adding that his client misses his children, Blum told Crump that the hearing over full custody is a "different animal."

Wake Court District Judge Debra Sasser, who presided over the Cooper custody case, made it clear at the start of the hearing that the ongoing murder investigation would certainly play a role in her decision.

According to the Raleigh News & Observer, Sasser said during the court hearing Sept. 29, "I am not going to avoid the elephant in the room: Did Brad Cooper kill his wife?"

"That's what I have to determine in this custody case if no one is charged and convicted in Nancy Cooper's death before the custody hearing."

Nancy Cooper's family and Brad Cooper, the girls' father, have been fighting over custody of the two kids since she was found strangled in an undeveloped subdivision July 14.

Her husband, Brad Cooper, may have been the last person to see Nancy and told police that his wife went jogging and never returned.

No arrests have been made in the case and Brad Cooper has not been named a person of interest, but family and friends of his wife have said they are convinced that he was involved.

Police investigating the July murder say that parts of the sworn testimony made by her husband earlier this month are "inconsistent" with the statements he made to authorities immediately after her death.