A Psychopathic Father or an Innocent Man Wrongly Convicted?

How Cope’s trial revealed the disturbing truths of the legal system

Anittha
6 min readJan 28, 2021
Left is Billy Wayne Cope, and right is Amanda Cope. Image from the NY Daily Times.

The Narrative.

Back in November 2001, a twelve-year-old girl, Amanda Cope, was found brutally murdered and raped in her own home, in South Carolina. Her father, Billy Wayne Cope, found her dead body in her room and called 911. He would later confess to the crime, not once but three times. However, the story was not that simple.

In his initial statement that he had provided police, he claims that around 6:00 am he had woken up from his sleep and called out his daughter's name. But after receiving no response, he decided to check on her just in case. It was then he found his daughter’s lifeless body on the floor of her own bedroom and called 911.

According to police, Cope was considered a suspect because there were no signs of forced entry, and they believed he was showing too little emotion. Cope was then interviewed twice and then sent home. But he was then brought in for a third time the same night, which would last till the following morning, ending with Cope in prison.

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Anittha

BSc student studying life science. A huge reader 📖 I love to write about science, mental health, history, law books, movies, and more 😁💕✍️