Woman Thrown Out of Courtroom Due to Unruly Outburst While Being Sentenced for Her Roommate’s Brutal Murder

A Florida woman was forcibly removed from a courtroom after an outburst on the day she was scheduled to be sentenced for killing her roommate.

Amanda Cook, 41, was convicted in the 2019 death of her then-roommate, 64-year-old Karen Leiti. Court records from Collier County show Cook was set to be sentenced on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Video from the hearing shows Cook walking into the courtroom smiling. Moments later, she began shouting, demanding what she called a “military tribunal,” and yelling, “This is a satan synagogue!”

Judge Joseph Foster asked Cook whether she wanted to remain in the courtroom as he prepared to impose sentence. Cook continued yelling over the judge. After repeated disruptions, Foster directed courtroom security to remove her.

As she was escorted out, Cook shouted, “Whoa! Whoa! Just got busted! Get down, they’re coming in!”

After Cook was removed, Foster said he believed she was “malingering,” a term used when someone is thought to be exaggerating or faking physical or psychological symptoms—often to avoid consequences or gain an advantage in legal proceedings.

The hearing continued without Cook in the courtroom, and she was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.

Cook was initially arrested and charged with second-degree murder on July 3, 2019, after deputies responded to her home and found Leiti dead on the living room floor, according to a booking document included in the court file.

Authorities were first alerted by Cook’s mother, who told investigators her daughter arrived at her home in the early morning hours and said she had gotten into an altercation with Leiti.

At the time, Cook claimed Leiti had fallen over a speaker and hit her head. But a medical examiner later concluded Leiti’s injuries were consistent with intentional blunt-force trauma. The injuries also matched “an object recovered from the living room” that had blood on it, according to the report.

An attorney connected to Cook was contacted for comment, but there was no immediate response.