"She was so excited to become a mother. She loved her baby more than anything. She had not idea of the evilness that would soon take it all away," said Anicich. "Even at the end, she pleaded for her baby's life, which meant everything to her."

Sherry Anicich says Cooper's actions have left an indescribable void in her family's lives.

"This emptiness scares me because it reminds me that I will never see her smiling face, feel her warm hugs, hear her voice or that laugh again," she said.

Door County District Attorney Raymond Pelrine is confident that justice will be served in this case.

"The job done by the sheriff's department, the thoroughness of it, the no stone left unturned type of investigation they've done, I have every confidence that these charges leveled against Mr. Cooper will be backed up," he said.

That's about all Sherry Anicich can now hope for.

"We will ensure to protect future lives of innocent women and children by ensuring that this predatory killer and rapist spends the rest of his life in prison, she said."

A preliminary hearing for Cooper is set for September 11. He remains jailed on $1-million cash bond.