Jodessa Cooper, 53, was found shot to death inside a locked vehicle in Indianapolis on January 25, 2023. The car, located near East 38th Street and North Sherman Drive, belonged to her boyfriend, David Ross. Authorities said the couple had been out earlier that day celebrating Ross’s birthday.

A probable cause affidavit states Ross told detectives he and Cooper had been arguing and struggled over his handgun when it discharged, killing her. Ross was arrested and preliminarily charged with reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, but Cooper’s family publicly rejected the characterization of the shooting as accidental and urged for a more serious charge.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office later decided not to file any official charges in connection with Cooper’s death, a decision that left her family frustrated. Cooper’s family remembered her as a loving, devoted caregiver to her mother and to one of her sons.

If anyone knew Jodessa or has information about what happened that day, please share what you know.