Man 'had sex with heavily pregnant ex-girlfriend AFTER strangling her to death as she pleaded for the life of her unborn child'



Brian Cooper admitted to smothering Alisha Bromfield, who was more than six months pregnant

The two were staying in a quiet Wisconsin resort town while they attended a friend's wedding

First murder in Door County, Wisconsin, since 2001

The man who was charged with murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend as she pleaded for the life of her unborn child had sex with her after he had strangled her, it has emerged.

Brian Cooper, 35, from Illinois, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of third-degree sexual assault for the murder of Alisha Bromfield, 21, who had accompanied him to a sister's wedding.

Member's of Alisha's family - who were wearing purple and had special t-shirts made with Alisha's picture - were visibly shaken as Cooper entered the courtroom this morning.

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In court: Brian Cooper, left, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of third-degree sexual assault for the murder of Alisha Bromfield, 21, right, who had accompanied him to a sister's wedding

According to court papers, the 35-year-old strangled the mother-to-be at a resort on August 19 after an argument over their relationship.



Alisha's heartbroken mother struggled through tears to read out a statement after the hearing.

Sherry Anicich said: 'There is no justice for Alisha and Ava Lucille. However we know she would want to protect the future lives of innocent women and children by ensuring this predatory killer and rapist spends the rest of his life in prison.'

Ava was the name Alisha had given to her unborn child.



Door County District Attorney Raymond Pelrine told the court that after they argued, Cooper started drinking and then became angry after the 21-year-old fell asleep.

He said: 'He then proceeded to sit in the room feeling more angry and frustrated. Not only (about) the break up of the relationship but his feeling of her apparent coldness and indifference to him throughout the evening.

Distraught: Alisha's mother Sherry Anicich wipes away a tear as she reads out a statement in court this morning, saying there can be no justice for the death of her daughter and unborn child

Scene: Cooper led investigators to his hotel room at the Sand Bay Beach Resort, pictured, where he had allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend earlier

'He then awakened her sometime between two or three in the morning and got on top of her and with his hands strangled her to death.'



Court papers also revealed that Bromfield shouted: 'Don't do this to me, think of the baby' as he throttled her with his bare hands. He then allegedly undressed her and had sex with her body.

Cooper told investigators he then covered her body with a blanket because he felt like it was the 'respectful thing to do'.

After the murder, he tried to kill himself unsuccessfully with a butter knife and a corkscrew. He then fled the scene and called 911 from a Sister Bay gas station to turn himself in.

Cooper was not the father of Alisha's unborn child.



A judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for September 11.



The last murder in Door County was on New Year's Eve 2001, when one man pierced another through the heart with a katana blade



The region is known as the 'Cape Cod of the Midwest' because its rural population of 27,000 swells by hundreds of thousands every summer as tourists flock to the shoreline resorts.

