BRADFORD, Vt. — Earlier this month, Vermont State Police searched a South Main Street property that a 43-year-old is believed to have visited in the hours before he was murdered in January 2025.
The death of Corey Crooker, who grew up in Nashua, was initially treated as a missing persons case when his mother, Diane Cobb, and other family members contacted police after about a week without hearing from Crooker.
“I was getting very worried, and I knew that he was around some really bad people,” said Cobb. “I never expected what did happen.”
Bradford residents James Nickles Jr., 43, and Lisa Akey, 42 remain in jail as they face charges related to Crooker’s death and the burning of his body. Nickles ultimately confessed to shooting Crooker in an interview, but claimed it was out of self defense, court records indicate.
The recent state police search of a property Crooker frequented begs the question of whether there’s more evidence tucked away in town. State police searched 804 South Main Street in Bradford on June 10, Sgt. David Shaffer of the Bradford Police Department confirmed by email.
Last year, police located parts of Crooker’s body at the home on Old Post Road belonging to Nickles and Akey but the entirety of his remains have not been accounted for.
Crooker’s murder was “the first one in quite some time,” in Bradford that Shaffer could recall, aside from some officer-involved shootings years ago, he said.
Nickles pleaded not guilty in the Orange Superior Court on May 15, 2025, to two felony charges of second-degree murder and unauthorized removal of a dead body, and to a misdemeanor of false information to police, all related to Crooker’s death. Nickles has been held at Northern State Correctional Facility without bail ever since.
Akey also pleaded not guilty in May 2025 to three felony charges of accessory after the fact, unauthorized removal of a dead body and obstruction of justice, with an additional misdemeanor of false information to police. She also remains in custody at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.
Shaffer directed further inquiries about this month’s property search to state police Detective Sgt. Joshua Lewis, who is part of the major crimes unit that primarily investigates homicides and suspicious deaths.
In response to an inquiry, Adam Silverman, a spokesman for Vermont State Police, said in an email last Thursday that investigators did execute a search warrant in Bradford, but did not locate evidence. Silverman also confirmed that aspects of the Crooker case are still under investigation.
Crooker’s last known location before visiting Nickels and Akey was 804 South Main St., which is about 10 minutes down the road from where the killing allegedly took place.
Crooker was visiting the South Main Street home where Robert Litchfield, 31, resided at the time but felt “dope sick,” court records indicate. Litchfield reported that he had been trying to get Crooker to leave for days, and it was Litchfield’s brother who drove Crooker to Nickles’ and Akey’s home on Old Post Road on Jan. 14, 2025, the affidavit stated.
Crooker attempted to enter the home, but the Nickles and Akey told police they denied him entry, the affidavit stated. They gave Crooker a coat and sent him on his way, adding that an unknown female in a dark-colored SUV picked him up and that was the last time they saw him.
However, a confidential informant claimed that Akey had become romantically involved with Crooker a few weeks prior to his death, which led Nickles to begin hanging out with Crooker’s girlfriend, Alisha Wedge.
The informant also claimed that Nickles shot Crooker twice in the head and once in the chest with Akey present.
Wedge told police in an interview that “Akey and Nickles sold drugs and Crooker and Wedge used drugs,” the affidavit stated. She also said that Akey and Nickles had a tumultuous relationship, as did she with Crooker.
When asked during a police interview upon his arrest in February of last year on federal firearm charges if police would find human remains in his home, Nickles responded, “To the best of my knowledge, no.”
But later in the interview, Nickles confessed to shooting Crooker. He claimed Crooker did arrive at their home, that they argued and sent him away, according to the affidavit. However, Crooker returned unexpectedly and broke through their glass door while the couple was watching television. Nickles claimed that he did not know what was happening or who entered their home in the moment.
“He stated that he shot because he was scared,” the affidavit said.
Nickles confessed to having moved the body to their fire pit outside and burning the remains for several days.
During Nickles’ interview, police executed a search warrant of 660 Old Post Road and found two firearms, bones in the fire pit, a missing person flier for Crooker, a white shirt with a red stain and a “No Trespassing, We’re Tired of Hiding the Bodies” sign.
Police determined that Crooker had a titanium rod and screws in his right femur, which had not been located at the time of the search. Bone fragments examined by a University of Maine anthropologist were incomplete, excluding a skull among other body parts.
“It is believed at least part of Crooker’s remains were removed from the fire pit,” the affidavit states.
Crooker left behind three children, Sofia, 22, Ayden, 8 and Myles, 1, with the two youngest currently in Diane Cobb’s care in North Haverhill, she said Thursday when reached by phone.
Crooker struggled with addiction, but was a good father who loved fishing and carpentry, Cobb said.
“He did get himself clean at one point and then for some reason or another, he got back involved in it,” she said.
If convicted, Nickles could face life in prison or a minimum of 20 years for second-degree murder; five years and/or a maximum fine of $1,000 years for unauthorized removal and one year; and prison and/or a $1,000 fine for false information to police.
Akey’s charges come with the possibility of seven years and a $1,000 fine for accessory after the fact; five years and a $5,000 fine for obstruction of justice; five years and a $1,000 fine for removal of a body; and one year and a $1,000 fine for false information.
“I hope he gets as much as they are allowed to give him, and his girlfriend,” Cobb said of Nickles and Akey.
Neither Nickles’ public defense attorney, William Vasiliou, nor Akey’s attorney, Amy Davis, responded by deadline to Tuesday morning phone messages.
Judge Timothy Tomasi recently denied both defendants bail at separate weight of the evidence hearings, on March 3 for Akey and on April 1 for Nickles. Akey’s March 16 jury draw was canceled and the court calendar indicates it has not yet been rescheduled. Nickles is expected to reappear for a status hearing in the next month.
