20-Year-Old St. Pete Man Threatened to Kill Woman, Mom, & Her Cats When She Refused to Undress

Sean-Michael Cooper booking photo following arrest by PCSO. Photo by Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) | Press Release

According to information released by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO), a 20-year-old from St. Petersburg Florida has been arrested following an attempted murder and residential burglary with battery.
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Detectives state that on January 2, 2025 at approximately 3:39 am, deputies assigned to the Patrol Operations Bureau responded to a residence located in unincorporated St. Petersburg for a burglarly in progress. Once on scene, deputies located Sean-Michael Cooper standing outside the residence covered in blood.

Inside the residence, deputies found the victim, a 22-year-old female, suffering from significant injuries. The victim was lucid enough to tell responding officers that the suspect, Cooper, was the one that had executed the attack.

Investigations into the crime uncovered a staged home invasion turned murder plot. The victim told investigators that she had found Cooper inside waiting for her in the dark when she returned to her residence after a long day at work. Cooper then attacked the young woman by striking her in the head with a large glass pipe, sprayed her with pepper spray, then continued striking her multiple times with a metal frying pan.

Detectives say that Cooper proceeded to choke the victim, took the victim's phone, and told her he would stage an attack as he verbally instructed her to remove her clothes so he could sexually assault her. When the victim refused, Cooper threatened to not only kill the victim, but also her mother and her beloved cats. Cooper then continued to strike the victim until she became unconscious.

Cooper was said to have made numerous inconsistent statements regarding the incident while being interviewed by investigators, and had injuries to his face and neck consistent with the victim's testimony regarding her attempt to defend herself.

The 20-year-old male has been arrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail, where he is being held on separate bonds for each charge received — one for $150,000 and another for $500,000. Cooper now faces the following charges:

• One count of Attempted Felony Murder
• One count of Burglary with Battery

Law enforcement says the victim was transported to the hospital with serious non-life-threatening injuries. As of publication, it has not been made known whether or not she remains in the hospital for treatment or has been able to return to her home.

The investigation remains open and on going. Additional updates are to be released by PCSO's Office of Public Affairs if and when they become available.

Article by Rachael Volpe