In December 2014, Mike Cooper called 911 and reported that his roommate/live-in boyfriend had stabbed himself in the chest. Responding officers arrived and found the deceased body of Joey Samples. Samples had been stabbed to death. An examination of the scene and evidence indicated that Samples was the probable victim of a homicide. The case stalled soon stalled.

In 2021, a Texas Ranger re-examined this case. Inconsistencies with the evidence and with Cooper's story were noted. Cooper was reinterviewed and ultimately arrested and charged with murder. A trial date is pending. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Texas Rangers through this website or call Texas Crime Stoppers.

All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.