NEED TO KNOW
- A woman in Florida was thrown out of a courtroom while she was being sentenced for her roommate’s murder
- Amanda Cook, 41, was found guilty of killing 64-year-old Karen Leiti in 2019
- Cook yelled over the judge and shouted nonsensical phrases as she was led from the courtroom during her Jan. 22 sentencing
A Florida woman was thrown out of a courtroom after an unruly outburst the day she was scheduled to be sentenced for murdering her roommate.
Amanda Cook, 41, was found guilty of the 2019 murder of her then roommate, 64-year-old Karen Leiti. Her sentencing was scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22, per Collier County public court records.
Video footage of the sentencing shows Cook entering the courtroom with a smile on her face.
“Saw my attorney, I need a military tribunal. This is a satan synagogue!” she then yelled.
Cook could then be heard yelling over the judge, Judge Joseph Foster, as he asked her if she would like to be present in the room as he handed down her sentence. She continued to yell, at which point Foster said, “You can remove her,” to courtroom security.
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Cook then shouted, “Whoa! Whoa! Just got busted! Get down, they’re coming in!” as she was escorted out of the room.
The judge then stated that he believed Cook was “malingering” — a term which is used when a defendant intentionally exaggerates or fakes physical or psychological symptoms, usually to avoid responsibility or gain a legal advantage.
The proceedings continued without Cook present in the room, and she was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
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Cook was initially charged with second-degree murder on July 3, 2019, after deputies arrived at her home and found her roommate dead on the living room floor, according to a booking sheet included in the court records.
Authorities were initially called to the scene by Cook’s mother, who said that her daughter had driven to her home in the early hours of the morning and told her she had gotten into an altercation with Leiti.
At the time, Cook claimed that Leiti had fallen over a speaker and hit her head. However, a medical examiner’s report revealed that Leiti’s injuries were consistent with intentional blunt-force trauma to the head. The injuries were also found to be consistent with “an object recovered from the living room” that had blood on it, per the report.
PEOPLE reached out to an attorney for Cook but did not receive an immediate response.
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