Kellie Cooke Opens Up About Tara Lambert, The Model Who Plotted To Have Her Killed
Kellie Cooke opened up to Dr. Phil this week about the sensational 2015 Ohio case wherein former model Tara Lambert tried to have her killed — calling her the “most evil person” she ever met — according to an excerpt from People magazine.
The comments came from a preview of a two-part series on the Dr. Phil Show detailing the case where Lambert, 35, the stepmother of Cooke’s two children, plotted to have Cooke bumped off. Lambert contacted what she thought was a hitman — turning out to be an undercover cop — the outcome unraveling her attempt, People stated.
The magazine reported that Lambert pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder in July, and was sentenced to five years in prison. People reports that she is scheduled to be released in March 2022.
“She’s just one of the most evil people I’ve ever met,” Cooke told Dr. Phil in the interview. The discussion will be aired on Monday and Tuesday during the regularly scheduled Dr. Phil Show.
During a secretly recorded video of Lambert and her meeting with the undercover officer, Lambert said that she wanted Cooke chopped up. The television talk show aired a portion of the tape.
“I hate her,” Lambert said of Cooke, according to the video that was part of the People exclusive. “Just put her in a chopper, like one of those lumberjack chopper things.”
Lambert, also known as Tara Arbogast, received a credit of 16 months for time served when she was sentenced by Pickaway County Common Pleas Judge P. Randall Knece in Circleville, Ohio, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Why does Kelli Cooke say she believes Tara Lambert wanted her dead? #DrPhil https://t.co/ATIIfRkEv4
— Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) September 10, 2018
The original dispute bubbled up over visitation rights in court, which allegedly led Lambert to seek out a hitman to murder Cooke, the newspaper stated. A court originally convicted Lambert in January 2016 but said conviction was overturned by the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals because of a technicality, the Dispatch noted.
She was re-indicted by Pickaway County prosecutors and the sentencing was part of an agreement struck between the county and Lambert’s attorney Sam Shamansky, the newspaper noted.
Aspen Lambert, 18 — Cooke’s daughter and Lambert’s former stepdaughter — read her mother’s victim impact statement in court before the sentencing.
“I knew what you were capable of,” Cooke said in the statement, according to the Columbus Dispatch. “You lied, manipulated and controlled everything my girls done… You wanted my girls. When you figured out I was on to you, you snapped. You tormented my family for a long time with no punishment. It’s time that you are held responsible for your actions and all of the harm you have caused.”
