GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio — Ten years after Jennifer Cooke was found murdered in her Grandview Heights apartment, the case remains unsolved.
Sunday afternoon, loved ones gathered at the Grandview Heights Public Library around a bench dedicated in memory of Cooke, to remember a woman they knew as a mother, daughter, and friend.
"I see her everywhere when I'm here,” Charlyn Marie, Cooke’s mother, said.
Family and friends reflected on the Jen they knew and loved.
"Its rare to be that genuinely sweet and kind and not… annoying, and she managed to walk that tight rope where she was very sweet, very, very sweet, but still, you know, cynical me could put up with her,” Shauna Pendaries, a friend of Cooke’s said.
On August 1, 2013, Grandview Heights Police were doing a wellness check at Cooke’s apartment after family reported not hearing from her. Officers found an unsecure door and her body inside with multiple stab wounds.
"I mean, it’s like an open wound, you know, its never gonna heal,” Charlyn said.
Charlyn said her daughter was a friend to everybody.
"She was very easy to get to know, she was very sweet, very giving,” Charlyn said.
Several of her Grandview Heights friends also gathered by the bench Sunday afternoon.
“She was very quiet and I'm very loud and we ended up becoming best friends,” Heather Kerr, a friend of Cooke’s, said.
Kerr said she still thinks of her dear friend often.
"I come to her bench sometimes and I'll just sit with an iced coffee and some music and just chat to her about nothing just like we would've,” Kerr said.
Her friends stated the world is a little less bright without Cooke in it.
"We put sunflowers everywhere. It was her favorite flower. She grew giant, giant sunflowers. And she was like that. She was very bright and happy and sunshine-y,” Pendaries said.
Charlyn is hopeful sharing her daughter’s story finally leads to some answers. She’s asking anyone who might have information on this case to come forward to police.
"I just can't believe I have to live the rest of my life without my daughter... but in a way, I just hope that we get justice,” Charlyn said.
A $20,000 reward is still being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection to Cooke’s death.