‘I Hope You Die a Very Painful Death’: Florida Teen Arrested for Boyfriend’s Murder and Then Released, Sent Disturbing Texts Showing Alleged History of Abuse, Court Documents Show
An Orlando teenager was arrested for allegedly stabbing her 19-year-old boyfriend to death four months ago in Florida.
Zoe Cooper, 18, was charged with second-degree murder for the death of her boyfriend, Tadarius Massey, who investigators say she threatened to kill multiple times in the past.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Atlanta Black Star, Massey was with Cooper on Aug. 14 at her Orlando home, where the couple argued after Massey reportedly refused to let Cooper go through his phone.
Their argument escalated to a physical fight in which they both struck and grappled with each other, the affidavit states. Cooper told detectives she armed herself with a knife during the argument, which Massey took and used to stab stuffed animals multiple times before putting the blade down. After that, she said she picked up the knife again and stabbed Massey, then drove him to the hospital.
After dropping Massey off with friends who accompanied them to the hospital, she left and returned home. Those witnesses later told detectives that when they encountered Cooper, she was frantically stating, “I didn’t mean to.” Massey died at the hospital before deputies could arrive.
Autopsy results revealed that Massey suffered stab wounds to his heart and left shoulder and also had two old, healed stab wounds on or near his left shoulder. There were also scratches on his neck, consistent with strangulation. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The day after the stabbing, Cooper made a post on her Instagram account @_.mindofamaniac._ that said, “I don’t expect for anyone to understand my side of the story sorry for the pain I caused upon any and everybody due to this, if I could take it back or trade place in a heartbeat I would #LLTD, I love u always I’m truly sorry for what I did it wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
On Aug. 20, she sent Massey’s account a message that said, “u wit dat sleepyhalloww,” and included several laughing emojis.
The arrest affidavit details a history of abuse between Cooper and Massey. Investigators learned of an incident that took place at Ocoee High School last December in which Cooper accused Massey of cheating and attacked him after he wouldn’t allow her to see his phone.
Investigators found a photo from March 29, 2024, in Massey’s phone that showed Massey with a new stab wound.
Authorities also found several threatening text messages Cooper sent Massey on March 29 that included statements like, “I should have killed you” and “I’m glad I stabbed you.”
Other texts Cooper sent that day included messages like, “And Ima spit in yo grave. I wish you would have died that day. Seriously, I hope you die a very painful death.”
Massey’s manager at Subway told investigators that Massey would sometimes come into work looking physically battered and reportedly told her where Cooper allegedly attacked him. She also recounted times when Cooper visited his place of work to watch Massey without speaking to him.
Authorities stated they never found any stabbed, stuffed animals at the stabbing scene and Cooper’s family members who were at Cooper’s home at the time of the attack told police they didn’t hear or see anything.
During her interview with detectives, Cooper told authorities about alleged incidents where Massey would physically abuse her. Investigators couldn’t corroborate Cooper’s domestic violence claims, but learned that Massey confided in several people about how he had been attacked by Cooper in the past, including being stabbed before Dec. 2023.
Cooper was arrested at Texas Southern University on Nov. 15, and days after her arrest, she was released from jail. Questions have surfaced over why her arrest took so long to carry out after the August stabbing and when her extradition from Texas to Florida will happen.
Court documents state the reason for her release from custody in Texas as “Demanding jurisdiction released hold, will not extradite.”
Atlanta Black Star obtained a waiver of extradition signed by Cooper that shows Florida had 14 days to “pick up” the suspect. If not, the local charges would be dropped.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which polices the jurisdiction where Cooper is charged, told Atlanta Black Star that the case is still active, but deputies don’t yet have any information on when she might be returned to Orange County.
Atlanta Black Star has reached out to Cooper’s defense attorney in Texas for more information.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that 1 in 10 men aged 18 and older in the US experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking. The CDC estimated that roughly one in three men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime.
Survey data the CDC gathered revealed that most first-time victimizations occur before age 25 and many victims first experienced violence before age 18.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).