The Steve Harvey Morning Show employee Bryan Cooke has died. He was 39.
Cooke worked as an assistant to Harvey's co-host Kier 'Junior' Spates. The police report, obtained by People, says when two calls to Cooke's Atlanta hotel room from Spates went unanswered, the show's co-host asked the hotel staff where Cooke was staying to check in on him. He was found unresponsive, lying face down and "cold to the touch."
One staff member turned Cooke around and "noticed that vomit and blood were coming out of his nose and mouth." He was later pronounced dead by the police.
Spates, who referred to Cooke as his "best friend," told police the two went out partying the night before but didn't take any drugs. To his knowledge, he didn't see anything wrong with Cooke before the two went back to their separate hotel rooms after smoking cigars. The police report later stated prescription pills were found near Cooke's bed but haven't confirmed whether or not it had to do anything with his death.
Spates later went to Instagram to comment on Cooke's passing.
"Today was the hardest day I have ever gone through! God is still in control. I lost my best friend today. He was actually my brother. We were friends since I was 16. I have no words. I am going to pull through for you Bryan Cooke. I won’t let you down. I love you and miss you. God must have needed a Titan in heaven today. Please keep his family in prayer and lifted up," read the lengthy post next to a photo of the two. "I want to say thank you for keeping me in check through all my successes. You was the first to say man you got it. Thank you brother for keeping me focused. The world is hurt today. Your impact was truly felt. You made me a Man today. You said you was gone do it, I just didn’t know it was going to be like this. Thank you for all you taught me. Took me all day to type this. Just greet me when I walk through those gates!!! Show me around. See you Cooke. Truth be told, you was always better than me and I knew it. You did too. Thank you Lord for sending me the person I needed! The fight over Cooke!"
In another post, Spates shared a touching message: "When you lose someone you love, you gain an angel you know."
