The Breakfast Club - Hunting 4 Answers: The Story of Nina Cook: Part 2

Episode Date: June 22, 2025

The Black Effect Presents... Hunting 4 Answers! In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In October 2014, she vanished without a warning, with no goodbyes and with no signs of trouble. In Part Two of Nina Cook’s story, her family's growing concern turns to horror when her remains are discovered inside an abandoned Memphis church. As detectives dig for answers, a tangled timeline, unanswered calls, and haunting final memories raise a chilling question: what really happened to Nina between summer and fall of 2014? Anyone with information about this case should contact the Memphis Police Department at 901-545-2677 or Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.  This is the story of Nina Cook. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an i Files Miami, stories of families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. From iHeart podcast, before social media, before cable news, there was Alan Berg. He was the first and the original shock choc. That scratchy, irreverent kind of way of talking to people and telling them that you're an idiot and I'm going to hang up on you. This is Live Wire, the loud life and shocking murder of Alan Berg.

And he pointed to the Denver phone book and said, well, there are probably two million suspects. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, listeners. the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, listeners. I'm Melissa Jeltsin, host of What Happened to Talina's R. It's the story of a woman who disappears in the early days of COVID lockdowns and the group of online sleuths who try to find her.

I didn't wanna be talked out of this plan. After I post this, I am turning off my phone for exactly this reason. I kept just kind of asking everybody, anyone else think this is strange? You'll notice that about me. I don't lurk, I'm out there. I'm an action kind of girl.

You can now get access to episodes of What Happened to Talina Czar, 100% ad free, with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription. I'm a subscriber and you should be too. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today. How could a beautiful young first grade teacher be stabbed 20 times including in the bat, allegedly die of suicide? Yes, that was the medical examiner's official ruling.

After a closed door meeting, he first named it a homicide. Why? What happened to Ellen Greenberg? A huge American miscarriage of justice. For an in-depth look at the facts, see what happened to Ellen on Amazon. All proceeds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a true crime podcast. I'm your host, Hunter. And today we continue our three-part series into the life and murder of 28-year-old Nina Cook, a young woman from Memphis, Tennessee whose life was cut tragically short in October of 2014. In the first part of the series, we

met Nina through the eyes of her siblings, Lydia, Kenya, and Chris. They painted a portrait of a woman who was ambitious, loving, and fiercely protective of her family. But today we step into darker territory. We examine the circumstances surrounding Naina's disappearance, the last conversations, and the gruesome discovery that would forever change the lives of those who loved her. This is the story of Nina Cook. When does a beloved family member's absence transform from a passing concern into a growing fear? At what point does she's just busy become something's wrong?

For the family of Nina Koch, this transformation happened slowly and then all at once. Before we can understand Nina's disappearance, we need to revisit the last times those close to her saw or spoke with her. These final encounters, ordinary at the time, would later be examined for clues, for warning signs, for anything that might explain what was to come. for anything that might explain what was to come.

I think when you speak to, when you speak to a loved one, you don't expect it to be the last time that you talk to them. So I don't remember the last conversation that I had with her because I didn't know that it would be the last. I've tried to replay that and think about it in my mind, but I probably remember last is, uh, my last visit coming down to Memphis. Although Lydia may not remember the exact conversation, she does remember her last visit with Nina vividly. In celebration and Nina couldn't make it, but she promised me that she would see me the next day. So we met up at my Uncle Bobby's house and the first thing she did was she

came in with a big smile as she always did. And she wanted to hold my hand and sit on my lap. So our last pictures are of us cozy together on the sofa, holding hands, as always. And we laughed and she hugged all my babies. I didn't want to let her go. For Chris, Naina's younger brother, his last memory of his sister comes from a casual family

gathering at their grandmother's house. Yes, I do. Now that had to have been springtime. And the last time that I saw her, we were just all chilling at my grandmother's house. And man, you know, she was just very dressed to the nines. She had recovered pretty nicely. You know, they talk about the rod in her hip. She did have a little bit of a car accident and she had recovered nicely and she was getting dressed up to the nines.

The surgical rod in Nina's leg would later play a crucial role in identifying her remains. But it's what happened next that Chris holds most fear, a moment that would become the final memory of his sister. I was in my grandmother's room laying on my bed, laying on my grandmother's bed rather, and she kind of just came in very softly, touched my face. And it's something that, you know, like Amanda said,

you never think that this is going to be the last time you're going to see or hear from somebody. You know, the last thing that I remember my sister saying to me, which is the first thing that I knew and I always knew, she told me that she loved me. Her last words to me was, I love you. And it's hard to kind of think about that as the last registered memory that you have of one of your greatest inspirations. And that was what it was.

And it was so soft and so sweet. And literally I remember her walking out to leave and going to get on her stride and conquer the world and her little confident walk that she had with the hips swaying. And you know, that was it. That was the last time that I talked to her. She seemed very calm, very poised, and gave me that I love you. In 2012, 16-year-old Brian Herrera was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to do homework.

No suspects, no witnesses, no justice. The call was horrible. I replayed it over in my head all the time. For years, Brian's family kept asking questions, while a culture of silence kept the case cold. Snitches get stitches. Everybody knows it. Still, they refused to give up. I would ask my husband, do you want me to just let this go? He's like, no, keep fighting.

I told her I would never give up on this case. And then, after a decade of waiting, a breakthrough. We received a phone call that was bittersweet because it's a call that we've been waiting for for a very long time. I'm Enrique Santos. This is Cold Case Files Miami, a podcast about justice, persistence, and the families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami

as part of the MyCultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. How could a beautiful young first grade teacher be stabbed 20 times, including in the back, allegedly die of suicide? Yes, that was the medical examiner's official ruling. After a closed-door meeting, he first named it a homicide. Why? What happened to Ellen Greenberg? A huge American miscarriage of justice. For an in-depth look at the facts, see what happened to Ellen on

Amazon, all proceeds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I want to be one of the world's biggest drag queens. You've heard the name Marsha P. Johnson, trans icon, revolutionary, saint. They call me a legend in my own time. But who was she, really? She's strutting up there, waving to the policemen in the cars, pay it no mind. I'm a woman, a real woman. Marsha also survived homelessness, sex work,

and police violence. And in 1992, her body was found in the Hudson River. Her death remains unsolved. Marcia was pulled out of the water, right over the edge here. Afterlives is a podcast about how trans lives we've lost have reshaped our world. Marcia will tell us who she was in her own words.

You're going to be gagging. Just get your heart ready for heart failure. At a time when trans rights are under attack, her story is more urgent than ever. Listen to Afterlives on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jan Masilek was a model of German corporate success. It seemed so damn simple for him. Also, it turned out a fraudster. Where does the money come from? That was something that I always was questioning myself.

But what if I told you that was the least interesting thing about him? His secret office was less than 500 meters down the road. I often ask myself now, did I know the true Jan at all? Certain things in my life since then have gone terribly wrong. I don't know if they followed me to my home. It looks like the ingredients of a really grand spy story here, because this ties together the Cold War with the new one. Listen to Hot Money, Agent of Chaos on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Kenya, Naina's younger sister, also recalls seeing Naina at their grandmother's house shortly before her disappearance. So when I found out, it was really more so my family, just kind of like, oh, we haven't heard from, we call her Gina in my family too. We hadn't heard from Gina in a little bit. I recall my last time seeing her was around maybe early June or so. I mean, she came by my grandmother's house and I saw her. None of Nina's loved ones remember her expressing any concerns or fears during these last interactions.

No, I don't recall any fears being expressed. No, she came around the family. She was fine. We had fun. We talked. I think around that time, I probably had just had my daughter not too long before, maybe a year or two before she was missing. So she was trying to be in my daughter's life and just making sure she stayed connected with the family. But I didn't sense any fear or any threat or, you know, that she was in danger or anything like that. Family gatherings, expressions of love,

staying connected to family. Everything seemed to be fine. There were no dramatic goodbyes, no warnings, and no sense that anything was wrong, which makes what happened next all the more disturbing. The exact timeline of when Nina went missing is difficult to pinpoint. There was no single moment when an alarm was raised. Instead, her absence and lack of communication drew concern that gradually grew louder. Naina was known to travel often,

so it wasn't unusual for her to be out of touch for short periods of time. However, this time was different. When we didn't hear from her around her birthday, which is in September, that's when my side of the family for sure started, you know, getting a little bit more worried, like Lydia said.

And I was actually not the one to submit the missing persons because I think for me as well, we were just kind of like, oh, yeah, she's out of town. It wasn't uncommon for her to go out of town and we not hear from her for a couple of weeks or she's in the studio working on music or she'd be in Atlanta, or just wherever. Since Naina was always on the go,

and at the time, her family had no reason to suspect the worst. So I don't think the worst came to mind automatically. I know it didn't for me. So I did not fill out the missing person report because I just knew that we were gonna hear from her again and she would pop up when she's ready. She was not, she was known to kind of go do our own thing. And then we'd hear from her when she was finished

or, you know, felt like talking or whatever. So. But there was one day that should have wrought word from Naina — her birthday. No matter where she was or what she was doing, she would always speak to her family on or around her birthday. Of course I called and talked to dad about it and dad said, the last time he had heard from her was Father's Day. He had already mailed off her birthday card.

And he was waiting to hear back from her because she would always call when she got her birthday card. Father's Day was in June. Nina's birthday was in September. The realization that no one had seen or heard from Nina in months finally began to sink in. Lydia remembers getting the call from Kenya about how Nina seemed to be missing.

Can you call me? And I remember I was helping my mom out at the hair salon. And I am always optimistic. So at the mention of her possibly being missing, I'm like, no, you know, we'll hear from her. Her birthday's coming up. She's just traveling. You know how Nina is.

We'll talk to her soon. As the days turned to weeks and September gave way to October, the silence became increasingly difficult to ignore. Eventually, a missing person report was filed and the official missing persons investigation was launched. But no one could have imagined where the investigation would lead.

Let's take the necessary steps in case there is something wrong, but I could not. I couldn't allow my mind to go there. So I think I just kind of compartmentalize things and was just like, it's one of those days, you know, she's going to call, you know, of course, we'll find her these type of things don't, you know, happen to us. In October, 2014, Kenya received an unexpected visit

from the police that would change everything. For me, and then in October is when I actually found out that it really was something wrong. And so on that day is when I got a knock at the door from the police department and they gave me the contact number for the sergeant and basically said that they had, you know, they wanted me to talk to the sergeant. They felt like they had found a body and they just kind of wanted to confirm. And so that was my first real notification that she had passed. I believe it was October.

Once Kenya called me and said that they had identified our body and that they had found her. Um, that was really hard, um, because it became real and something that we now have to face and deal with and you're wondering why and how. I had to share that news with my dad and for it to be solidified through dental records and the rod that she had in her leg from the accident. It wasn't something that I could deny. I just broke down. I don't know how you deal with something like that. In 2012, 16 year old Brian Herrera was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to do homework. No suspects, no witnesses, no justice.

The call was horrible. I replayed over my head all the time. For years, Brian's family kept asking questions while a culture of silence kept the case cold. Snitches get stitches. Everybody knows it. Still, they refused to give up. I would ask my husband, do you want me to just let this go? He said, no, keep fighting. I told her I would never give up on this case. And then, after a decade of waiting, a breakthrough. We received a phone call that was bittersweet, because it's a call that we've been waiting for for a very long time

I'm Enrique Santos. This is cold case files Miami a podcast about justice Persistence and the families who never stopped fighting listen to cold case files Miami as part of the mykultura Podcast network available on the I heart radio app Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts How could a beautiful young first grade teacher be stabbed 20 times including in the bat allegedly die of suicide? Yes, that was a medical examiner's official ruling. After a closed door meeting, he first named it a homicide. Why? What happened to Ellen Greenberg? A huge American miscarriage of justice. For an in-depth look at the facts, see What Happened to Ellen on Amazon.

All proceeds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I want to be one of the world's biggest drag queens. You've heard the name Marsha P. Johnson, trans icon, revolutionary, saint. They call me a legend in my own time. But who was she, really? She's strutting up there, waving to the policemen in the cars, pay it no mind. I'm a woman, a real woman.

Marcia also survived homelessness, sex work, and police violence. And in 1992, her body was found in the Hudson River. Her death remains unsolved. Marcia was pulled out of the the water right over the edge here. Afterlives is a podcast about how trans lives we've lost have reshaped our world. Marsha will tell us who she was in her own words. You're going to be gagging. Just get your heart ready

for heart failure. At a time when trans rights are under attack, her story is more urgent than ever. Listen to Afterlives on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Jan Masilek was a model of German corporate success. It seemed so damn simple for him. Also, it turned out, a fraudster. Where does the money come from? That was something that I always was questioning myself.

But what if I told you that was the least interesting thing about him? His secret office was less than 500 meters down the road. I often ask myself now, did I know the true Jan at all? Certain things in my life since then have gone terribly wrong. I don't know if they followed me to my home. It looks like the ingredients of a really grand spy story here, because this ties together the Cold War with the new one. Listen to Hot Money, Agent of Chaos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The surgical rod in Nina's leg, along with the dental records, was the final confirmation.

Nina Cook was gone. Nina Cook was gone. On October 7, 2014, Nina Cook's remains were discovered in a vacant church building at 1175 East Trigg Avenue in Memphis. The property had been foreclosed and empty since October 2013. A church caretaker made the grim discovery and called 911. Nina's body was found lying on the floor, covered by a soiled curtain, and in an advanced state of decomposition. Her remains were largely skeletonized, with only a torn piece of red underwear still adhered to her.

Scattered around her, puzzle pieces, a pen, a penny, a toy shoe, and fragments of jewelry including a heart necklace. According to Nina's autopsy report, the medical examiner documented perimortum fractures to her facial bones, sternum, and vertebrae, concluding the cause of death was homicidal violence, though the specific means remained impossible to determine after so much time had passed by. A missing persons report had only been filed two weeks earlier, though family hadn't heard from Nina for approximately three months. The window of

time between her disappearance and the time she had been discovered had its effect, leaving behind unanswered questions about her final moments. With the discovery of Nina's remains, the missing person case transformed into a homicide investigation. Memphis police began the difficult task of piecing together what happened to Nina Cook. Kenya recalls the early days of the investigation

when the quest for answers had more energy. I remember in the beginning going down to the station, to the investigations bureau, and talking to the sergeant, getting information, giving information, details, and just trying to come up with next steps. The family provided whatever information they could, trying to reconstruct Nina's final days and weeks leading up to her untimely death. So yeah, being told about possibly running DNA through the system

to see if there was a match and, you know, talking about the crime scene and just giving our statements and trying to recount and recall who we remember her being in communication with, you know, people that she knew, people that she went to school with, anyone that she dated, or just anything that we could come up with to try to find clues. Social media provided one potential source of information. A digital trail that might offer insight into Nina's last movements. We were looking at her social media to kind of see where she was or what she posted, things like that.

And like Amanda said, this was October. And so we were a few months behind. So it was a lot that we could not get access to. But in the beginning, it did really feel like we were making some leeway. I think any family member that deals with a tragic loss, they want answers. They want help. They want support from law enforcement, from media, to felt like everyone was going strong. We were going to find the answers. There was talk about DNA. I watched enough crime shows, right, to know that you can find, you know, answers with just the smallest shred of evidence. The hope was that

people would talk, they would see her story, calls would flood in. Unfortunately, things died down really quickly. Finally, things died down really quickly. Despite the initial spark of interest in Nina's case, the investigation faced significant challenges and roadblocks. So I didn't understand why we couldn't get more answers, why her email couldn't be accessed, why checks in like the green.card things couldn't be traced. I understood because I went to some of the businesses myself and at the time a lot of them only held recordings

for 30 days, maybe 90 days. And we were far behind from the time that they found her body to the time that the investigation began. The condition of Nina's remains also presented forensic challenges for the investigation. So because of the state of her body I did understand that and the time frame I did understand that we were at a disadvantage but I had so much hope that we would have more resolve than we did and just more support. I thought my phone would be ringing off the hook, trying to get answers and people reaching out and wanting to share her story and also, you know, find justice, but it just wasn't. Everything dried up and I didn't hear back from.

Many one until now. Unfortunately, I don't think we got any like clues or tips through like the hotline like the rewards hotline. We were trying to get some information, see if anybody could give some anonymous tips, but we were not successful with that. We did not have that much concrete evidence at all. As the investigation continued to unfold, or lack thereof, Lydia and the rest of Nina's loved ones felt like her case wasn't being treated fairly,

or given the priority it deserved. given the priority it deserved. And I think in the investigation, when her story didn't look picture perfect, it didn't seem newsworthy enough to pull on the heartstrings. It felt like her life didn't matter and things began to be swept under the rug. Lydia's frustration grew as she encountered roadblock after roadblock, in her own quest for information, and the truth behind what happened to her sister.

I heard a lot of, there wasn't enough of this. I couldn't do that. I couldn't. I wanted to get into her post office box at the University of Memphis. I wanted to get into her post office box at the University of Memphis. I wanted to get camera footage. I wanted DNA evidence. I wanted, you know, different people to be spoken to or interviewed more thoroughly. Despite the decline in resources in Tanayna's case, Lydia says the lead investigator did make genuine efforts, even when other authorities began to turn their time elsewhere.

And I know things probably take time. And I believe that the sergeant who was working with us put in really great efforts. He was supportive and communicative for a while. But then I think he was on the verge of retiring, and I'm sure there's processes and high crime city, all these things. Perhaps her story was one that was easily placed on the back burner. Over a decade later, the questions surrounding Nina's death

remain largely unanswered. Who would want to harm her? What were the circumstances leading up to her final moments? And what happened between June and October of 2014? In part three of this series, we'll examine the broader implications of Nina's case, how it fits into patterns of unsolved cases involving women of color, the challenges of Cold's case investigations, and the family's ongoing journey for justice and answers. Anyone with information regarding Nina Cook's case should contact the Memphis Police Department

or crime shoppers. Their number can be found in the description box below. As we close out this episode, don't forget to hit the follow button to stay updated on this case and others like it. Subscribe to Hunting for Answers on YouTube to watch the visuals to this episode and follow us on Instagram and TikTok for more true crime updates.

And if you enjoyed this story, leave us a five star rating. Thank you so much for joining us on another episode. Until next time. Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. In 2012, 16 year old Brian Herrera was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to do homework. No suspects, no witnesses, no justice. I would ask my husband, do you want me to stop? He was like, no, keep fighting. After nearly a decade, a breakthrough changed everything. This is Cold Case Files Miami, stories of

families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever Case Files Miami on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. From iHeart Podcast, before social media, before cable news, there was Alan Berg. He was the first and the original shock choc. That scratchy, irreverent kind of way, talking to people and telling them that you're an idiot

and I'm gonna hang up on you. This is Live Wire, the loud life and shocking murder of Alan Berg. And he pointed to the Denver phone book and said, well, there are probably two million suspects. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, listeners. I'm Melissa Jeltsin, host of What Happened to Talina's R. It's the story of a woman who disappears in the early days of COVID lockdowns

and the group of online sleuths who try to find her. I didn't want to be talked out of this plan. After I post this, I am turning off my phone for exactly this reason. I kept just kind of asking everybody, anyone else think this is strange? You'll notice that about me. I don't lurk, I'm out there. I'm an action kind of girl.

You can now get access to episodes of What Happened to Talina's R, 100% ad free, with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription. I'm a subscriber and you should be, too. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts. Search iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today. How could a beautiful young first grade teacher be stabbed 20 times including in the back, allegedly die of suicide? Yes, that was the medical examiner's official ruling.

After a closed door meeting, he first named it a homicide. Why? What happened to Ellen Greenberg, a huge American miscarriage of justice. For an in-depth look at the facts, see What Happened to Ellen on Amazon? All proceeds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This is an iHeart Podcast.