Inset: Destino Jean-Louis (Montgomery County District Attorney's Office). Background: The Walmart in Pennsylvania where Destino Jean-Louis allegedly shot and killed his wife Latosha Cooper (WCAU/YouTube).
A husband in Pennsylvania hid behind a bush outside a Walmart, waiting for his wife to finish her shift and leave before "slowly" walking up to her and shooting the woman dead in the parking lot as she talked with a co-worker, cops say.
Destino Jean-Louis, 23, faces first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the Oct. 21 shooting of Latosha Cooper, 45, outside a Walmart in Cheltenham, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
A criminal complaint and probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime says Jean-Louis, a former employee at the Walmart, was caught on security video "pacing" and "lying in wait" behind a bush when Cooper walked outside with a female co-worker after her shift.
"[The co-worker] and the victim walked out to their vehicles together and were standing in the parking lot talking," the affidavit says. "[The co-worker] said she saw a black male … wearing a blue-gray colored thin hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and a mask that covered his face, walk by her. [The co-worker] said the male slowly walked up toward the victim and shot her."
The co-worker told police she "thought she heard two or three gunshots" as she ran toward the store entrance. The woman used her cellphone to call Walmart employees and ask them to unlock the door. She told her co-workers what had happened and then called 911, according to the affidavit.
Police say the attack happened around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 21. Jean-Louis allegedly fled to Philadelphia on foot after the shooting, leaving Cooper with a fatal gunshot wound to the head beside her Nissan sedan.
According to the affidavit, Jean-Louis was standing just southwest of the Walmart parking lot, facing a "direct line of sight to the main entrance of the Walmart" when he saw Cooper walk outside.
"The suspect was observed walking at a quick pace in an apparent attempt to catch up to the victim," the affidavit says. "As the victim walked in front of her vehicle toward the driver's side, the suspect approached her from the rear of the vehicle, appeared to grab her upper body, and extended his arm."
Jean-Louis and Cooper allegedly met while working at the Walmart and formed a "romantic relationship," according to police and prosecutors. City records show that they were issued a marriage license in March 2025.
A former colleague and friend of Cooper told cops that Cooper married Jean-Louis in 2025 because he was having "immigration issues," according to the affidavit.
"Although Latosha and Destino were engaged in an intimate relationship, [the friend] said their primary goal was to secure immigration status with the United States for Destino," the affidavit alleges.
Another employee told investigators that Cooper "married Destino, a Haitian native, to help him remain in the country," according to the affidavit. The couple had domestic problems and Jean-Louis admitted to "physically assaulting" Cooper in the past because "she had disrespected him," the affidavit says.
"When [the employee] told him this was wrong, Destino replied that in his country such disrespect is not tolerated and that he would do it again," according to the affidavit.
The employee and others who worked with Cooper said Jean-Louis was "calling Walmart employees," allegedly to get Cooper's work schedule.
According to the affidavit, Cooper told co-workers that Jean-Louis was "not willing to do the work" needed to help his immigration status. She allegedly "cut ties" with Jean-Louis and he "was not happy about this separation," per the affidavit.
"She f—ed up my life," Jean-Louis allegedly said during a police interview, after being asked about their marriage, which he described as "difficult."
"Jean-Louis admitted to contacting Walmart employees to see if Latosha Cooper was working and said he made the excuse that 'she owed him money,'" the affidavit explains.
Jean-Louis allegedly told co-workers that he was upset with Cooper "for no longer answering his calls, which was interfering with his immigration process," according to the affidavit.
Jean-Louis said during his police interview that he and Cooper began dating in April 2024. He claimed she told him, "I could make you get a Green Card," according to the affidavit.
Police say Jean-Louis' phone data showed he was in the area of the Walmart at the time of the shooting. When detectives asked why, he allegedly said, "I don't know how."
An autopsy later determined that Cooper died from multiple gunshot wounds. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, and the bullets recovered during the autopsy were .22-caliber, police said.
Jean-Louis was arrested on Oct. 23 by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force at a Philadelphia residence following an immigration investigation. During a subsequent search of the home, detectives allegedly recovered a sandwich bag containing 11 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition.
Jean-Louis' cellphone records show multiple trips between the Philadelphia residence and the Walmart in the weeks before Cooper was shot, according to the affidavit. He also faces third-degree murder and related firearms charges.