By Clarance Walker
Nestled in an affluent neighborhood, Inwood Forest features luxurious brick homes up to three stories tall, manicured lawns, and vibrant flower beds. While many residents are highly paid professionals, some blue-collar families also call this deed-restricted, high-property-tax area home.
The community boasts golf courses, a country club, tennis and basketball courts, swimming pools, and over 200 acres of green space, including a scenic lake. The golf courses, a major highlight, draw enthusiasts from middle to upper-class backgrounds for competitions and recreation.
In 1968, WWII veteran Don Collett led a group of investors to purchase the Inwood Forest Country Club, designing a 27-hole golf course. Collett, a key figure in U.S. golf course development, oversaw 24 projects nationwide during his career.
Collier Airport’s proximity to the golf course, just off Alabonson Road, was one of the factors that attracted residents to this region. Small planes would frequently land on the golf course, mistakenly believing they had touched down at the airfield. While some rented planes at Collier Airport and went on quick trips, others left their luxury airplanes at the hangars and walked to their nearby locations.
Architecturally, the neighborhood includes styles such as Spanish, French, New England Colonial, California Contemporary, Southern Colonial, and English Tudor, along with a few castle-like structures. Together, the diverse residents have cultivated a strong sense of community.
Historically, Inwood Forest served as a Native American hunting ground until the 1860s, when German immigrants established a farming settlement along White Oak Bayou. By 1963, the Fuch family began selling the land, and by 1973, the pioneer era ended as the last livestock left the area.
During the oil boom, high-dollar homes were built for executives. By 1975, the City of Houston annexed Inwood Forest, adding 2,125 acres to its boundaries. The neighborhood’s boundaries include Gulf Bank Road to the north, U.S. Route 290 to the west, Pinemont to the south, and T.C. Jester to the east, with easy access to George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Uptown, and Downtown Houston, all within 30 minutes.
Neighbors, however, would soon wake to the sound of police and ambulance sirens in this up-market executive community. Their peace and calm suddenly fractured.
Inwood Forest Murder
On Monday, August 6th, 2002, the tranquility in Inwood Forest was shattered when a well-respected man was killed.
During the early dark hours of the morning, Houston Police Patrolman S. Thompson was alerted to a critical situation. A 911 emergency call at 1:59 AM had reported a stabbing incident at 7626 Maple Tree Drive. Responding promptly with sirens blaring and red lights flashing, Thompson arrived at the location by 2:24 AM.
Exiting the patrol car, he witnessed an ambulance departing from the scene. Thompson was informed that the person being transported in the ambulance was identified as 51-year-old Gary Ronald Cooper, a fallen victim to a stabbing perpetrated by an unidentified assailant as he opened the front door of his residence.
Tragically, medical personnel from Ben Taub Hospital communicated to the officers on the scene that the victim had succumbed to his injuries.
Full-Scale Homicide Investigation Got Underway
Homicide investigators, Sgt. E.T. Yanchak and Curtis Scales received a call at approximately 3:00 AM from Sgt. Trumble. Trumble advised the homicide cops that a scene awaited them at 7626 Maple Tree Lane. Both officers had been on call at home. Yanchak and Scales arrived at 3:30 AM.
Officer Thompson briefed the investigators on what transpired. Investigators noted the spacious two-story brick home with a two-car garage sat on a golf outlay prominently known as the Inwood Country Club Golf Course.
“Must be nice to live on a golf course,” one officer said while admiring the property.
Gary Cooper’s wife, Wanda Cooper, told police in a shaken voice what happened.
She recalled hearing the doorbell ring somewhere around 1:30 AM. Ms. Cooper said she and her husband got out of bed to answer the door. Realizing she needed to dress herself appropriately, the woman said she entered back into her bedroom and put on more clothes. Once Cooper exited from the living room and stepped onto the foyer, she noticed her husband sitting down.
“When I looked at my husband sitting on a bench in front of the door – I asked him if he was alright. He didn’t say anything. He grabbed his chest and fell over. As I raised his body, I noticed blood on his chest.” – Wanda Cooper
In a panic state, Ms. Cooper yelled for her daughter Lori to call 911.
Upon being informed of her husband’s passing by Investigator Scales, tears and grief overwhelmed Wanda Cooper. The officer compassionately expressed his condolences, reassuring the bereaved woman with empathetic words: “I’m sorry for your loss. But we are going to find out who did this.”
The Cooper’s Luxury Home at 7626 Maple Tree Lane in Houston’s Inwood Forest. Photo Source: C. Walker.
The sight of police cars, plain clothes investigators, and crime scene tape circling the luxury two-story brick home at 7826 Maple Tree Drive left neighbors in shock over what reportedly happened: golf pro Gary Cooper had been stabbed to death. His killer had seemingly disappeared into the night.
Rumors spread quickly as nearby residents grasped to make sense of what happened. Gary Cooper was a professional-level golf player; he taught the neighborhood teens and adults how to play golf at the Inwood Forest Country Club Golf Course. Whispered voices among residents speculated about motives and suspects, wondering if the killer might even be someone within their midst. Gary’s wife, Wanda Cooper, and daughter, Lori Cooper, would face a bleak future without a father figure in the home.
As police began digging, the investigation may uncover hidden secrets beneath the neighborhood’s pristine facade. Gary Cooper’s murder would become a catalyst, peeling back layers of secrecy and finally exposing the underlying tensions and personal dramas that quietly existed all along.
Before leaving the scene, Wanda Cooper told investigators she received a phone call from Kelton Yates, the Cooper’s daughter Lori’s boyfriend. They wanted to know what he talked about.
“Kelton was crying. He denied killing my husband, Gary,” Wanda said.
It was an unusual call, marked by sobbing on the other end. With no evidence yet to point to anyone’s guilt, Investigator Curtis Scales reached out to Tabitha Mikle, Kelton’s mother. Over the phone, he asked if she and her son could come to the homicide office for an interview. She agreed without hesitation.
“One of our patrol units will take you downtown.” Patrol Officer S. Thompson (unit #10) drove to 1010 Sun Prairie Street, Apt. 704, and transported the mother and son to the Homicide Division.
Investigators voiced suspicions about Kelton Yates after learning he argued with Gary Cooper three days earlier over impregnating his daughter, including the fact the victim wanted his daughter to abort Kelton’s child.
“That’s enough for someone to kill,” Officer Scales remarked.
Houston Police Homicide Division
Investigators questioned Tabitha Mikle. The HPD offense report stated the following:
Investigators confronted Ms. Mikle who told Wanda Cooper that her son (Kelton) had been home all night and didn’t go anywhere. Yanchak and Scales pressed Tabitha’s story that she watched the TV news and fell asleep between 10:30 PM, and 11: PM – and that there was no way Kelton could’ve left home while she was there.
Tabitha Mikle finally admitted Kelton may have sneaked away from the house.
But she wasn’t sure.
“When I fell asleep it is possible my son Kelton could’ve left the apartment. Around 1:30 a.m., I awoke, and my daughter “Quin” (Quintalina Shelly) said Kelton had indeed left with a friend named Kiondrix.” – Tabitha Mikle
Investigators identified Kelton’s friend as 20-year-old Kiondrix Smith.
Were Kelton Yates and Kiondrix Smith responsible for Gary Cooper’s murder? Investigators wondered.
When questioned about his whereabouts, Kelton Yates insisted to investigators he’d been with a friend, Kiondrix Smith, when an assailant murdered Gary Cooper. Yates gave police Smith’s phone number (713-676-0675) – and he said Smith drove a blue Honda Civic.
“Where does he live?” Sgt. Yanchak asked Yates. “He lives in the 5th Ward near Cavalcade.” Lt. Zoch crisscrossed the phone number and discovered Smith lived at 3322 Meme Street near Cavalcade at Eastex Freeway. Zoch assigned Sgt. T.C. Bloyd and Investigator D.L. Robertson to track down Kelton’s friend Kiondrix Smith.
An officer responsible for lobby security urgently contacted Lt. Nelson from a desk phone to inform him an attorney identified as Lawrence McCotter was in the station requesting access to the Homicide Division to speak with his client Kelton Yates. Something didn’t smell right.
McCotter instructed Zoch to terminate Yates’ interrogation immediately. In response, Zoch clarified to McCotter that neither Kelton nor his mother had requested an attorney and that Kelton was not under arrest.
“Do not question my client,” McCotter instructed the lieutenant.
Zoch informed Kelton’s mother that he was free to leave, emphasizing his concern to avoid potential legal problems. Tabitha Mikle stated firmly to the investigators that she called the lawyer out of fear, uncertain of what to do.
Although police terminated the questioning of Yates, his mother Tabitha shared an interesting background story about the dead man’s daughter.
“Lori was my son’s girlfriend. When Lori visited our house, she would say; she hated her dad, that her dad always beat her.” – Tabitha Mikle
Tabitha also recalled Lori saying her mother, Wanda Cooper, “was having an affair with another man.”
Speculation
“Maybe Lori had something to do with her father’s death,” Investigator Scales suggested to Tabitha Mikles. Scales assumed based on what Tabitha Mikle told them about the incendiary remarks Lori Cooper made about disliking her father because he abused her and tried to touch her inappropriately, that perhaps, Lori asked her boyfriend Kelton to kill him.
Tabitha Mikle, visibly upset, couldn’t bring herself to think her 16-year-old son was a killer.
Investigators allowed Tabitha to have a confidential discussion with her son to appeal to his conscience and prompt him, through a mother’s love, to be truthful.
Following their conversation, Tabitha conveyed to the officers, “Kelton said he didn’t kill Mr. Cooper.” Officer Scales proceeded to officially record Tabitha Mikle’s account regarding the remarks allegedly made by Lori Cooper to both Tabitha and Kelton about her father committing abuse against her.
Unsure what triggered Gary Cooper’s death the investigators had a hunch. But they knew they must prove it by untangling a web of deceit and lies. Denied the opportunity to question the juvenile Kelton Yates, Sgt. Yanchak reiterated to Tabitha Mikle that her son was free to go. Yanchak extended law enforcement courtesy by giving Yates and his mother Tabitha a ride back home on Sun Prairie Street.
Upon arrival, Investigator Breck C. McDaniel and HPD patrol officer L.D. Campbell were there for backup purposes. Tabitha Mikle’s daughter voluntarily allowed the officers to search the large condo for evidence used in a murder. Sgt. Yanchak informed Kelton Yates he needed to have the clothes he had on for forensic testing. “No problem,” Kelton agreed.
Who Murdered Gary Cooper?
Sgt. E. T. Yanchak and Officer Curtis Scales switched the spotlight onto Lori Cooper’s boyfriend. The police already had a brief conversation with Lori. Investigators learned from Wanda Cooper, the victim’s wife, that on Saturday, August 3, 2002, her husband got into a heated argument with Kelton Yates. Cooper said that Kelton was the father of her daughter’s unborn child.
Cooper said the altercation happened when Kelton and his mother Tabitha visited with her and her husband to decide what to do with the child. Ms Cooper explained to detectives that during the discussion about Lori’s situation her husband Gary got into Kelton’s face yelling. ‘You got my daughter pregnant!’ “I stepped between them to break it up,” the woman said.
“What did you all decide about your daughter’s pregnancy?” Yanchak quizzed.
“We decided she would have an abortion,” Cooper answered. Cooper further said Kelton’s mother agreed with the abortion decision.
“Was Kelton mad when your husband got into his face?” the officer asked. “Yes,” Ms. Cooper replied. She told investigators her daughter Lori and her boyfriend Kelton wanted to keep the child. The couple weren’t happy with the possibility of abortion.
Lori Cooper Interviewed By Homicide Investigators
Lori Cooper, a 16-year-old, very pretty, fair-skin teenager was the daughter of the victim Gary Cooper.
“Sometime last month I learned I was pregnant. I missed my last month’s period. If I was pregnant, it’d be Kelton’s baby because he is the only person I’ve had sex with. I told my mother, but she didn’t take me seriously. This past weekend my parents met with Kelton’s mother. We discussed my pregnancy. And that Kelton is the father. After discussing the matter, my parents and Kelton’s mom agreed on an abortion. Kelton and I didn’t want this. We want to have the baby.” – Lori Cooper
Lori spoke to Investigators about her father.
“My dad was a pro-golfer. He always wanted me to play golf. I didn’t want to play golf too much. I just quit playing the game.” Lori recalled experiencing unprovoked physical beatings from her father. “He beat (me) when I didn’t want to play golf anymore.” Investigators weren’t expecting to hear the words Lori would say next.
“He (my dad) tried to rape me about three weeks ago. I came home from summer school one day. My mom wasn’t wasn’t home. My dad asked who I was with, and I told him, Kelton. He grabbed my arm, and pulled down my warm-up pants above my knees.” – Lori Cooper
Lori explicitly stated that her father Gary Cooper removed his pants. At that moment, panic surged through her bloodstream, and she quickly broke away from her father, running upstairs. “I didn’t tell my mom; instead, I told Kelton and his mother about my dad,” she asserted.
Abuse Reported
Lori Cooper resumed her statement by telling investigators when she went to school she reported the abuse. “I reported this to Officer Smith with the Spring School District Police Department. I also reported to Officer Smith the attempted rape. My mom always asked why I disliked my dad so much. I tried to tell my mom that my dad was beating on me.”
“What did she say?” the officer asked Lori
“She didn’t believe he would take it that far. She was always at work or away from home with her job. I did not kill my dad nor did I want him killed.” – Lori Cooper
Wanda Cooper
In a more detailed statement given to detectives at police headquarters at 61 Riesner Street, Wanda Cooper said she had fallen asleep in her bed while watching television. Surprisingly, Ms. Cooper heard the doorbell ring twice. Ms Cooper and her husband simultaneously headed towards the front door.
“I saw the shadow of a black male standing near the metal (burglar bar) gate. I couldn’t tell who the black male was. I asked my husband who was at the door and he said ‘Kelton'” – Wanda Cooper
Ms. Cooper ordered her husband Gary to open the door because she wanted to know what on earth her daughter’s boyfriend Kelton wanted coming to her home so early in the dark morning hours around 1:30 A.M. Realizing she wasn’t dressed to greet a visitor, Ms. Cooper dashed into her bedroom and put on more clothes.
“When I returned the front door was open and the burglar bar gate opened.”
Wanda Cooper noticed her husband sitting on a wooden bench in the foyer near the front door. Next, everything went into an emotional tailspin.
What Ms. Cooper saw terrified her. Her husband Gary Cooper had been stabbed in the front part of his body; he is barely conscious, his breathing shallow. Terrified, Ms. Cooper kneeled by her husband as he sat upright on the bench, trying to comprehend the violence. “C’mon honey, what happened?”
“Who did this to you?”
Clad in sleeping clothes, Gary Cooper began falling onto the foyer’s concrete floor. As he was falling, he yelled, “Kelton!” As panic set in, Ms. Cooper yelled for her daughter Lori Cooper who was in her upstairs bedroom to call emergency help. “Lori, call 911, now … Your father has been stabbed.”
Paramedics hurried to the scene, strapped Gary Cooper onto a medical bed, and raced toward the hospital. Cooper had been stabbed three times. Ben Taub Hospital staff would later pronounce him dead.
“Tell us about the people you saw out there?” Sgt. Yanchak asked Wanda Cooper.
“I saw two black males running south on Maple Tree. The second black male was heavier than the other,” she said. She indicated she wasn’t sure if either young man she saw running was Kelton. “I asked Lori to call Kelton’s mother to see if he was home.”
Kiondrix Smith
Kiondrix Smith, appearing a bit nervous, settled into a relaxed posture during his discussion with the investigators. He proceeded to provide them with detailed information regarding the unfortunate events that led to the untimely death of Gary Cooper.
“I’ve known Kelton Yates for two years. I met Kelton while dating his sister Quintania. I no longer speak to Quintania. Last night, August 5th, I took a girl named Danielle to the AMC Movie on Beltway-8 at West Fuqua. We went to see the Martin Lawrence movie.” – Kiondrix Smith
Smith received a cell phone call from Yates while in the movie theater after 11:00 PM. Yates told Smith to pick him up at his place on Sun Prairie. Cell phone evidence showed Kelton called Smith from (281-873-2026) at 12:10 AM.
“When the movie let out, I dropped Danielle off at her house on Minnesota Street. I got to Kelton’s house at 1:45 AM.” Smith was driving his aunt’s vehicle, a green 1997 Honda Civic. “Kelton told me to drive to Lori Cooper’s house. He said he would kill her dad. I didn’t know he was serious. I didn’t see any knife or gloves at the time – but I saw them later when Kelton got back into the car.”
Arriving at the luxury golf course community, Kelton informed Smith to drive ‘three-to-four’ houses down from Lori’s parents’ two-story home.
Smith continued. “Kelton walked toward Lori’s house and I got out of the car and followed behind Kelton. Kelton came back running. I saw Lori’s dad falling in front of the doorway inside the gate. I heard Lori’s father yell, ‘Kelton”’!
When Kelton Yates finished stabbing Gary Cooper, he rushed to the vehicle with Smith running behind him. Kelton rode in the front passenger seat.
“Drop me off at home,” Kelton instructed Smith.
“I saw the black leather ‘bloody’ gloves Kelton wore and he had a large hunting knife when he got into the car. That was the first time I saw the knife,” Smith assured the Investigators.
“I think I probably killed him,” Yates told Smith.
“Where did you go afterward?” Officer Scales asked Smith.
“I went home, sir.”
Cops Are Coming: Kelton Yates Contacts Kiondrix Smith
Around 2:38 AM, Kelton Yates called Kiondrix Smith telling him the cops may visit him. “Kelton tried to get me to come to his house and tell the police – I was with him and we went to the store and returned home. But that isn’t the truth.”
“Do you know what Kelton did with the gloves and the knife?” Sgt. Yanchak pressed Smith.
“I didn’t see what Kelton did with the knife and gloves he had.” Kiondrix Smith signed the statement, and the investigators transported him back home.
Blood Discovered in Vehicle
Homicide investigators corroborated a key piece of evidence when Sgt. Bloyd and Officer D.L. Robertson had earlier visited Smith’s house where they spoke with Winnie Smith, Kiondrix Smith’s maternal grandmother.
She said the Honda her grandson often drove belonged to her daughter. The elderly woman gave verbal consent for the officers to search the car. Officer Robertson questioned Kiondrix Smith about Kelton Yates, as Ms. Smith unlocked the door for Sgt Bloyd to search for evidence.
Looking over the vehicle’s interior he spotted traces of blood on the passenger seat and the door handle. Next, Bloyd contacted a crime scene unit officer to process and retrieve blood samples discovered in the Honda Civic.
HPD CSU Officer Verbitsky rushed to the scene and photographed the interior of the vehicle where visible blood stains smeared the vehicle’s door handle. Subsequently, Officer Verbitsky submitted the blood samples to HPD Crime Lab for further testing which later proved through the DNA testing the blood was from Gary Cooper.
Kelton Yates Arrested
The absence of a clear-cut motive dominated the moment as things moved rapidly. Once Yanchak and Scales finished hearing Kiondrix Smith tell the graphic story of Kelton Yates stabbing Gary Cooper to death they knew an arrest would soon be made. What nagged the homicide officers was whether Smith had more involvement than what he revealed. They figured if Yates confessed he may finger Smith as the killer.
“That kid Kelton Yates didn’t want Lori Cooper’s parents to force her to abort the child she was carrying for him,” Scales speculated. “When Lori’s father threatened Kelton, he probably felt embarrassed and decided to kill him,” Scales insisted. “A good possibility,” Sgt Yanchak shot back.
Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded Gary Cooper died from three stab wounds to the chest and his abdomen. HPD Crime Scene Officer Tuttles retrieved a broken key discovered lodged in the Cooper’s security gate which leads to the front door. Wanda Cooper told officers she was baffled about how someone got hold of a key to her burglar bar door. Wanda showed Tuttle the other part of the key lying on the ground. Tuttle photographed both pieces of the key and tagged them as evidence.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Yanchak briefed Harris County Juvenile Prosecutor H. Jackson about the specifics of the case, including the fact a witness drove Kelton Yates to the victim’s house, where Yates stabbed him. “You have enough, so pick him up and take him to the HPD juvenile division,” Jackson ordered the officer.
Yanchak and Scales advised patrol officer L.D. Campbell to meet them at 1010 Sun Prairie, where they took Kelton Yates into custody in the presence of his mother and his attorney, Larry McCotter. As the officers led Yates away in handcuffs, attorney McCotter firmly instructed his client, “Don’t make any statements!” Yates was placed into the juvenile division at HPD Southeast Station located at 8300 Mykawa Road.
Juvenile Officer Callis read the homicide report, and he attempted to talk with Yates. “I don’t want to make a statement,” the teenager told Callis. Callis complied with Yates’ rights not to talk with police and gave the teen a soda and chips to eat.
Harris County District Attorney Juvenile Division officially charged Kelton Yates with first-degree murder. A certification hearing would be held later to determine if the young defendant would be certified to stand trial as an adult.
The Harris County District Attorney Juvenile Division formally charged Kelton Yates with first-degree murder. A certification hearing would soon follow to determine whether the youth should be tried as an adult. Murder often involves intricate motives due to challenges posed by deceitful suspects and uncooperative witnesses.
Sergeant Yanchak and Officer Scales harbored suspicions that someone else may have been involved in the crime. The officers’ strong intuition stemmed from their observation at the scene, where the victim’s daughter, Lori Cooper, appeared devoid of a grieving reaction concerning her father’s tragic demise.
This lack of visible emotion led them to ponder the possibility that she may have harbored overwhelming bad feelings toward her father. Rumors circulating about her father being physically abusive and attempting to sexually assault her fueled Officer Scales’ mistrust of the young woman.
Was Lori Cooper’s manipulation of Kelton Yates’ deep love for her a trigger force in her father’s murder? The intense nature of homicide investigations often propels investigators to diligently pursue overlooked leads in their quest for conclusive evidence linking a suspect to the crime. Through thorough examination, investigators sought to understand how the killer acquired the Coopers’ key to open the secure burglar bars to gain entry onto the porch and ring the doorbell.
While suspicions abound, investigators recognize the necessity of meeting the legal standards of proof to build a case against other alleged perpetrators.
For all purposes in this ongoing murder investigation, unfinished business the awaited homicide detectives.
