Family starting to grieve after arrest made in mother of two's murder

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A family told Channel 2 Action News they can try to get justice 13 years after their loved one disappeared.

Channel 2 Action News was first to break the news Thursday of an arrest in Leslie Adams' murder. Adams was a beautician who disappeared in 2005.

[READ MORE: Man arrested in 13-year-old cold case murder of mother of 2]

Channel 2 investigator reporter Mark Winne was in Gwinnett County, where the suspect, Billy Cook, Adams' ex-boyfriend, appeared in court.

Winne sat down with Adams' family, who said they can finally grieve after years of heartache.

"We really couldn’t grieve," Roberta Adams, Leslie Adams' sister, said.

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Cousin Alayne Adams said in many ways, life had been on hold.

"Paralyzed. We were stuck," Alayne Adams said.

Cook is charged with Leslie Adam's murder.

"We just couldn’t move past it like everyone in our family. This arrest has already changed that. We’re feeling rejuvenated. We’re feeling hopeful," Alayne Adams said.

Roberta Adams said after 13 years of hoping for answers, she spoke months ago with Gwinnett DA's investigator Andrew Whaley.

District Attorney Danny Porter said his office and Gwinnett police reopened the case in 2017.

"(Cook) was somebody we were looking at almost from day one," Porter said.

Cook had been a suspect even before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Franklin County Sheriff's Office recovered human remains in a North Georgia swamp in 2007. The DNA proved to be of Leslie Adams.

Porter said a new witness adds meaning to cellphone data and more.

Cox Media Group