The investigation into a missing Virginia woman concluded with the discovery of her body in a trash truck, leading to the arrest of a suspect who was charged with murder.
The victim, identified as 30-year-old Taty’ana Zakiyyah Cooks of Lake Ridge, failed to pick up her child from daycare, prompting family members to report her missing. The Prince William County Police Department and Newport News Police engaged in the investigation that resulted in the tragic discovery and subsequent arrest.
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, police were summoned to a home in the 12200 block of Stevenson Court in Lake Ridge following concerns raised by Cooks’ family about her disappearance. Initial reports indicated that Cooks had not fulfilled her daily routine of picking up her child from daycare, a deviation from her norm that alarmed her family members.
As the investigation continued, police discovered that Cooks’ vehicle was in the possession of Brendon Devon White, a 28-year-old acquaintance of Cooks, in Newport News City, Virginia. White lived in Cooks’ house, but their relationship has not been explained yet by the police. Despite the car being located, Cooks’ whereabouts remained a mystery until a critical breakthrough on March 22.
During an expanded search operation near Cooks’ home, detectives intercepted and inspected a trash collection truck. It was in this vehicle that the search ended with the discovery of Cooks’ body.
Brendon Devon White was arrested in Newport News and faces murder charges for the death of Cooks, the fourth woman in Prince William County to be a homicide victim this year.
On the 6th of January, Desire Alexandria Buggs, a 24-year-old from Woodbridge, suffered a fatal gunshot while in the passenger seat of her spouse’s white Honda Accord. Her spouse, 24-year-old Daniel Okoe Lawson, rushed her to Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, but she did not survive. Lawson is now facing murder charges, and they leave behind a toddler aged three.
The following week, on January 14, Brittnee Yvonne Posey, age 30, was fatally wounded by gunfire from her spouse. The incident, later classified by the police as a murder-suicide, began with an argument between Posey and her 42-year-old husband, Nicholas Allen Smith Withrow, who shot her and then himself.
In a separate case on February 2, Egypt Zapporah Carter, a 23-year-old from North Carolina, was discovered deceased in a vehicle parked by a Dale City apartment complex along Benita Fitzgerald Drive, with a small, unharmed dog also found in the car. Police have yet to make any arrests or identify suspects in her death.
These deaths, including that of Cooks, bring the total of criminal homicides in Prince William County to six since the onset of the year.
The loss of Taty’ana Zakiyyah Cooks has left a void in the hearts of those who knew her, sparking a conversation about safety and vigilance in the community. As the legal process unfolds, many are hopeful for justice to be served in this deeply unsettling case.