Cooke sentenced to death by lethal injection

James Cooke Jr. was sentenced to death again yesterday for raping and killing then-sophomore Lindsey Bonistall in 2005.

Bonistall was found raped and strangled in her apartment at the Towne Court, now called Studio Green Student Village, when police were investigating a fire in the apartment. In 2007, Cooke was found guilty on 11 counts of the charges including rape, murder and arson and was sentenced to death.

Two years later, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned the conviction claiming Cooke’s rights were violated because his legal representative submitted a “guilty but mentally ill” plea despite the defendant’s objections.

Now, more than seven years after the crime, Cooke, 41, will be put to death by lethal injection.