Gateway killings suspect in Lee County Jail

By News-press.com

Fred Dewitt Cooper Jr., 27, of Bonita Springs, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Steven and Michelle Andrews of Gateway.

Cooper, accompanied by a handful of law enforcement officers, arrived at the Lee County Jail at about 8:30 p.m. He was booked into the facility at 8:37 p.m.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest in a news conference this afternoon.

Sheriff's spokesman Larry King said the suspect was arrested in Orlando. Officials said he will be processed into Lee County Jail this evening.

The much-anticipated arrest comes 15 days after deputies found the married couple, both 28, about 7 a.m. Dec. 27 in their house at 12221 Eagle Pointe Circle in the gated Cypress Pointe neighborhood of Gateway in southeast Lee County.

Sheriff Mike Scott said that Steven Andrews, a landscape architect at Outside Productions, had been having a relationship with a co-worker. Cooper was the boyfriend of that co-worker.

"Mr. Cooper, through DNA evidence and other evidence, was identified and has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder," Scott said.

Sheriff's spokesman Larry King said deputies are still processing evidence but had "enough probable cause" to charge Cooper.

The Andrews' 2-year-old son, Luke, was connected to a 911 operator when the first deputy arrived at the home, an element of the case that attracted national media attention.

Maj. Jeff Taylor had described the gruesome crime scene as “disturbing.”

Cooper was employed at Sun Sports Cycle & Watercraft in south Fort Myers.

Records show that he and Kellie Ballew had a baby girl in Aug. 2000.

Ballew has worked at Outside Productions in the accounting department. Her name is still listed in the company voicemail directory.

Reached on her cell phone Wednesday evening, Ballew said, before hanging up: "The circumstances are none of y'alls business. Some of the stuff you're quoting in the paper is outlandish, and you better be ready for a lawsuit."

A woman who answered the telephone at the home of Jeffrey S. Ballew in Winter Park near Orlando asked Ballew if he wanted to take a call, but when they found out The News-Press was calling, she said: "Don't ever call this house again" before hanging up.

Records indicate that Cooper was twice arrested for theft and twice convicted of felony burglary in Martin County.

The first recorded arrest in 1993, just before Cooper turned 15, was for driving without a license, obstructing justice and theft. The second arrest came four months later, also for theft.

Cooper’s troubles with the law escalated and the next year, when he was 16, he was convicted of burglarizing a dwelling and sentenced to three years in custody.

It’s unclear how much time he served, but obviously not his full sentence since he was again arrested for burglary in 1996.

By the time Cooper turned 18 in 1996, he was convicted again of burglary. He served three years of a four year sentence, getting out of prison in Aug. 1999.

Cooper apparently settled into domestic life after prison.

With the exception of a couple of speeding tickets in the last few months, Cooper had steered clear of law enforcement since serving time. He and Ballew had been residing at 28263 Jeneva Way in Bonita Springs, according to records.

A photographer with The News-Press saw a U-Haul truck leaving the Jeneva Way house early Saturday afternoon. Deputies have not commented on when Cooper left town.

Iain Johnstone, owner of Sun Sports Cycle & Watercraft, acknowledged that he heard about the arrest but declined to comment on Cooper.