Misty Cook, mother of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, arrested on meth charges

WEST UNION, Iowa (KCRG) - Officials in Fayette County arrested two people in West Union Wednesday night on drug-related charges, including the mother of one of the two Evansdale cousins that were abducted and murdered back in 2012.

Misty Cook, 45, and Nathan Slaughter, 38, are both facing several charges after officials executed a search warrant at an apartment located in the 100 block of South Vine Street Wednesday night. During the search officials found and seized methamphetamine, marijuana, paraphernalia, and cash.

They’re charged with Possession of Methamphetamine - 3rd Offense, Possession of Marijuana - 3rd Offense, Gathering Where Controlled Substances Are Used - Methamphetamine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. All of the charges, except the drug paraphernalia charge, are class D felonies.

Cook is the mother of Lyric Cook-Morrissey. Lyric and her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, were abducted from Evansdale in July 2012. The girls’ bodies were found in a rural area of Bremer County in December 2012. Cook has faced legal troubles, including a November 2013 arrest on meth-related charges. She was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2014. She served only a portion of her sentence before being released.

In a 2022 interview with KCRG-TV9′s Beth Malicki to discuss the tenth anniversary of her daughter and niece, Cook discussed her previous legal issues involving drugs saying she felt vilified following the murders.

“It was just really more than the mind or the emotions can handle,” Cook said in 2022. “I just wanted to numb my thoughts and my feelings and I know from my past a very good way to do that. And so I just went right back to it. And it worked. It did what I wanted it to do for quite a while. Until I went to prison.”

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