Plea deal in boyfriend's 2005 murder may let woman go free from prison within eight years

WEST PALM BEACH — A Palm Beach County woman who successfully appealed her 2008 murder conviction and had a life sentence vacated has accepted a plea that will allow her to leave prison within the next decade.

Circuit Judge Caroline Shepherd sentenced Shara Cooper, 37, to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, May 15, after Cooper pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of manslaughter with a firearm in the 2005 slaying of her boyfriend, Samuel Norris Jr., at their residence in Greenacres.

Shepherd ordered that the sentence be served concurrently with a matching prison term Cooper received 16 years ago following her conviction on arson charges in the same case.

Shepherd credited Cooper with 18 years and one month of time served in the county jail and a state prison. Under Florida law, prisoners are required to serve at least 85% of their sentences, meaning Cooper could be released in seven and one-half years with gain time. The state Department of Corrections shows Cooper as having a release date in June 2032.

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Shara Cooper hesitated before accepting plea deal in murder of Samuel Norris Jr.

Cooper was sentenced to life in prison in 2008 after a jury convicted her of second-degree murder in Norris' death, first-degree arson for setting their apartment on fire and two counts of grand theft for stealing Norris' truck and a handgun.

The life sentence was vacated four years later when the Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned the murder conviction after it found that the trial court gave jurors an erroneous instruction regarding a lesser offense.

The appellate court's ruling did not affect Cooper's arson and grand theft convictions, and she remained in custody at a prison near Ocala while her murder case proceeded through the court system.

The state transferred Cooper to the Palm Beach County Jail on Monday, May 13, ahead of a hearing scheduled at the main courthouse. She appeared in court Tuesday, May 14, but did not immediately accept an offer from the state, her attorney saying she was still considering whether to waive her right to an appeal.

Shepherd rescheduled the hearing for the following day, giving Cooper time to consider. At that hearing, Assistant State Attorney Chrichet Mixon told the court the evidence would show Cooper was a principal in Norris' death.

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Prosecutors described Shara Cooper as principal player if not shooter

Court records show Norris was found fatally shot and partly burned July 23, 2005, in the apartment he shared with Cooper. Investigators determined that someone had intentionally started a fire there.

Prosecutors previously sought to convict Cooper of first-degree murder, telling jurors she killed Norris out of anger and jealousy because she suspected he had been unfaithful to her and because he planned to move out. Cooper, who was 18 when Norris died and eight months pregnant with his child, gave birth to their daughter less than four weeks after his death.

In addition to alleging that Cooper killed Norris, prosecutors said she arranged to have someone steal his Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that day and gave his 9 mm handgun away to the thief.

The jury determined Cooper was not the shooter but found she was a principal in Norris' death. The State Attorney's Office refiled the murder charge in February following a review of the case's material facts by a team of prosecutors.

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Shara Cooper initially denied any role in Samuel Norris Jr.'s death

In preparation for a new trial, Cooper's attorney, Brian Pakett, challenged the state's decision, telling The Palm Beach Post in March that a court ruling would prohibit prosecutors from arguing that Cooper was the person who shot Norris, as they did during the previous trial. He declined to comment on Wednesday's plea hearing.

During the initial police investigation, Cooper denied involvement in Norris' death. She did acknowledge giving away Norris' gun and allowing his vehicle to be stolen, an act that Cooper's former attorney, Ann Perry, told jurors at trial was because "she wanted to slow Sam down. He was cheating on her."

Perry also told jurors that Cooper learned from a former boyfriend that he was the person who shot Norris and set the apartment ablaze. To date, no one else has been arrested in connection to the case.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman who fought life sentence in 2005 murder accepts plea deal in case