Oz True Crime: Inside the Benjamin Cooper case - Former prosecutor gives fresh perspective to tragic death of newlywed

Even if Oz True Crime is no longer on air, the segment continues to be relevant through YouTube. Dr. Oz's YouTube channel uploaded an old True Crime segment of the show in which Mehmet Oz revisited the Benjamin Cooper murder case. In January 2012, the discovery of 24-year-old Cooper's body just weeks after his wedding sent shockwaves through Taylor County, West Virginia.

Initially, Ben Cooper's wife, Samantha E. Metzgar, described his death as a s***ide, but there was more to this case. The official description of the Oz True Crime video reads:

"Benjamin Cooper was found dead two weeks after his wedding. His wife Samantha said he had taken his own life. The physical evidence said something else. Former Texas prosecutor Kelly Siegler, from Cold Justice, works through the case with Dr. Oz. She starts with the parts that did not fit: Samantha's account of the gun changing between tellings, and the way she behaved during police interviews, which Siegler reads as performance rather than grief."

Oz True Crime - Benjamin Cooper case explained:

As per Oz True Crime, the Cooper family received shocking news on January 26, 2012, as they learned of Ben Cooper's tragic passing. At that time, Samantha said that Ben shot himself in the head. Ben's family had admitted that he was struggling with some mental health issues, as he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and that he had contemplated ending his life in the past.

But prosecutor Kelly Siegler never believed Samantha's description of the tragic event, as Metzgar initially claimed that she wasn't there when Benjamin Cooper died. Siegler further revealed in the Oz True Crime segment that Ben was left-handed and described the method in which Ben would've died if it had been a s***ide.

In order for Ben's death to be a s***ide, he had to have placed the gun on the right side of the back of his head. After pulling the trigger, it shot slightly upward and came out of the left eye. Therefore, it was impossible for it to be a case of s***ide.

However, it wasn't until 2015 that Metzgar was finally charged. Kelly Siegler's TNT series, Cold Justice, played a role in Samantha getting charged for her ex-husband's murder. Samantha Metzgar was finally indicted in August 2015.

Kelly Siegler also told Dr. Oz in the Oz True Crime segment that Samantha and Benjamin were in an unhealthy relationship, and that she was domineering.

Why did Samantha kill Benjamin?

According to WVMetroNews, she maintained that Ben took his own life for a long time. It wasn't until 2015 that she finally confirmed Kelly Siegler's suspicions. Turns out, she did take Ben's life in 2012, but it wasn't pre-planned. In the latest Oz True Crime episode, it was revealed that Metzgar told the court that she had a meltdown and pulled the gun from the dresser. This meltdown was a response to an argument with Ben, and she shot him in the back of the head.

Samantha was sentenced to 15 years for voluntary manslaughter in January 2017, but she had been serving her prison sentence since August 2015. The court said that the start of her prison sentence would be considered to be August 2015, and not December.

Siegler revealed that Ben's mother was happy with the sentence, while his father was having a hard time because Samantha refused to hand over Ben's remains.

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