Georgia jury convicts Ryan Cooper in girlfriend’s killing, body still missing

A Georgia jury took less than an hour to convict Ryan Cooper of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another in the killing of Lacambria Deonshay Toomer, the 23-year-old mother of his child. The verdict came in Dougherty County Superior Court.

Prosecutor Gregory W. Edwards told jurors Cooper was absolutely guilty and argued that he shot Toomer to send a message. Toomer was killed around Aug. 15 or 16, 2022, after she was last seen in Albany on Aug. 13 and reported missing 11 days later. Prosecutors cited text messages between Cooper and Toomer, cellphone GPS and location data, and evidence that Cooper was the last person known to be with her. Cooper told police he dropped her at a gas station, and he also claimed he left her at a Love’s truck stop in Cordele, but investigators determined those stories were false.

The case moved to trial after Cooper was arrested on May 31, 2023 and later indicted by a grand jury in March 2026. Before the verdict, prosecutors also sought to combine the murder case with a 2022 aggravated assault case involving Toomer. Toomer’s remains have never been recovered.

Defense attorney Benjamin Davis pressed jurors to question the state’s blood evidence witnesses and the investigation itself. He argued that the experts were paid witnesses and warned that similar mistakes have contributed to wrongful convictions in other cases. Davis also pointed to the gap between Cooper’s 2023 arrest and the 2026 indictment.

Georgia law defines malice murder as an intentional unlawful killing and separately criminalizes concealing the death of another person. A 2021 domestic-violence-related indictment alleged Cooper pointed a gun at Toomer and threatened to shoot her. Toomer’s mother said she was grateful for the verdict, but her daughter’s body still has not been found.