Kevin Cooper /// Episodes:219-220 | Forensic Files

The first time I met Kevin Cooper, I was 8 years old and he slit my throat. He hit me with a hatchet and put a hole
in my skull. He stabbed me twice, which broke my ribs and collapsed one lung. I lived only because I stuck four
fingers in my neck to slow the bleeding, but I was too weak to move. I laid there for 11 hours looking at my
mother, who was right beside me. I know now he came through the sliding glass door and attacked my dad first.
He was lying on the bed and was struck in the dark without warning with the hatchet and a knife.
He was hit many times because there was a lot of blood on the wall and on his side of the bed.
My mother screamed and Cooper came around the bed and started hitting her. Somehow my dad was able to struggle
between the bed and the closet, but Cooper bludgeoned my father to death with the knife and hatchet,
stabbing him 26 times and axing him 11.

Kevin Cooper /// Episodes:219-220

Chino Hills, California, 1983 - In the dark of night, evil lurks around a house at the top of a hill. A sliding door was left unlocked and evil makes it's way inside the home. A sleeping family are surprised and slaughtered. One victim survives and tells a story that doesn't fit the evidence found at the scene. A suspect is quickly identified, and the manhunt began. Kevin Cooper is arrested, convicted and sentenced to death for the murders. The evidence is overwhelming. But was it suspiciously overwhelming? Did the police plant evidence? For more than 30 years, Cooper has proclaimed his innocence from a cell on death row. This week we discuss the horrific murders of the Ryen family and little Christopher Hughes. We will try to determine if Kevin Cooper is guilty of these murders #truecrimepodcast #crime #california #serialkillercase

Brief Summary

A survivor recounts the brutal attack by Kevin Cooper that killed his parents and left him gravely injured.

Key points

The Attack Begins. At just 8 years old, the narrator faces a life-threatening attack by Kevin Cooper.
A Father's Struggle. In a desperate attempt to protect his family, the narrator's father fights back against Cooper.

Episode highlights

A Father's StruggleIn a desperate attempt to protect his family, the narrator's father fights back against Cooper.“Somehow my dad was able to struggle between the bed and the closet.”0:58Mar 9, 2026

Episode quotes

He slit my throat.

A shocking moment from childhood.

0:03WatchMar 9, 2026

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