A teenager is accused of fatally stabbing her ex-boyfriend after he refused to let her access his cellphone.
Zoe Cooper, 18, a student at Texas Southern University living in Houston, was arrested on November 15 by TSU police, according to KHOU 11. She faces second-degree murder charges in connection with the death of 19-year-old Tadarius Massey.
Investigators from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported that the incident took place on August 14 at Cooper’s home in Florence Vista Boulevard, Florida. The altercation began when Cooper became upset after Massey refused to let her look through his phone. She allegedly stabbed him multiple times.
Cooper drove Massey to a hospital in Ocoee, but she reportedly stayed in the car while a friend helped Massey inside. Authorities said Cooper then drove away, returning home. Massey was later pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy confirmed he had been stabbed in the heart and left shoulder and had two healed stab wounds near his left shoulder.
On August 15, Cooper posted an Instagram reel expressing regret for Massey’s death. “If I could take it back or trade places in a heartbeat, I would,” she said, alongside a photo of the former couple. “I love you always. I’m truly sorry for what I did. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
The arrest report revealed that Cooper had previously attacked Massey over his cellphone at Ocoee High School in December 2023. She had also allegedly sent texts threatening to stab him and even expressed regret for not killing him before. In March, Cooper reportedly texted Massey: “And Ima spit in yo grave. I wish you would have died that day. Seriously, I hope you die a very painful death.”
The manager of the Subway where Massey worked described how he would come to work with visible injuries and confide that Cooper had attacked him. Cooper was also said to have watched him while he worked.
An online obituary for Massey praised him for “bringing so much love into this world.” It described him as a loving person who frequently showed affection through hugs and was a handsome young man with a heartwarming smile.
Massey’s great aunt set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses, writing, “Parents shouldn’t have to bury their children. This has been a tremendous and unexpected loss.”
The Independent has reached out to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for additional details.
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