Michael Cook Sr. sentenced to 25 years to life / iBerkshires.com

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – On Thursday, October 10, Michael A. Cook Sr. sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years for the second-degree murder of his wife, Charli Cook.

The sentences for the remaining four charges will be served concurrently with the main charge, Murder in the Second Degree. The other costs are:

• Assault with intent to murder
• Assault and destruction by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily harm
• Assault and battery on a family/household member
• Armed assault with intent to murder

Michael Cook Sr. will serve his sentence in state prison.

On July 11, 2019, Michael Cook Sr. of North Adams into the home of his estranged wife Charli Cook. Charli was in her bed when Cook attacked her with a hammer to the back of her head. The attack resulted in significant injury to Charli’s skull, causing a traumatic brain injury. Charli died about five months after the attack. The medical examiner ruled that Charli’s cause of death was a direct result of the brain injury from the July 11 attack.

The Commonwealth requested that the four lesser charges be sentenced to be served on and after the main charge. This would extend Cook’s sentence by 18 to 20 years; however, the judge denied the request. The Commonwealth made this request based on Cook’s extensive, violent criminal history spanning 28 years. The history includes domestic violence and battery of former intimate partners and other violent acts. Michael Cook is a Level 3 registered sex offender.

District Attorney Shugrue was in the courtroom for the sentencing. Judge Flannery presided.