BREAKING: Heather Cook indicted on new charges
Baltimore grand jury adds counts to the state’s case against the Episcopal bishop
Above: The “ghost bike” dedicated to bicyclist Thomas Palermo, who died after being hit by a car in north Baltimore in 2014. (Fern Shen)
A city grand jury has indicted Episcopal Bishop Heather E. Cook on additional counts arising from her fatal crash with bicyclist Tom Palermo on December 27, the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office announced this afternoon.
In addition to four original criminal charges involving manslaughter, homicide by a motor vehicle while impaired, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and several traffic charges – Cook was indicted today on a series of related counts, including reckless driving, negligent driving, drunk driving, texting while driving and failure to stop a vehicle as close as possible to the scene of an accident.
Cook, the newly installed bishop suffragan of the Maryland Episcopal Diocese, is receiving residential treatment for alcohol abuse at Father Martin’s Ashley retreat in Havre de Grace after posting $2.5 million in bail after the original charges were filed by the state’s attorney on January 9.
Arraignment is scheduled on March 5th..