02x01 - Waiting for the Darkness

[bunniefuu]

So who is, uh,
ready?

He was just himself,
so people shot him a follow.

Good morning, America...

A star is light.

Cooper...beamed light.

...and every other country.

Cooper loved the attention.
Cooper moved to L.A.

to build up
his social media following,

but L.A. is the land
of fake bullshit,

influencers, celebrities.

It is a sunny place
full of shady people.

Influencers crave these likes,
and he really wanted them.

It was almost a drug
in a sense.

Go follow my Instagram.
I would love that.

[Taylor]
But if you don't set hard
boundaries with your audience,

the internet will eat you
and destroy you.

What the -- ?

I woke up with like
this really bad feeling.

Picked Parker up,
started driving.

Hunter's crying,
driving, speeding.

[Hunter]
And then his mom called.

[phone buzzing]

[Hunter]
And Parker had her on speaker.

And she just screamed.

And that was the day.

[theme music playing]

[rock music playing]

[Parker] We grew up
in Laguna Beach, California.

Some people may have seen
the reality TV show.

It's a very small town.
Everyone's so friendly.

But, if we're being real,

like, even though Laguna's
chill, everyone is still

a little bit...

bougie.

Bougie chill.

Cooper was empath
since he was a baby.

As a kid, he was always
very active, funny, caring.

Cooper got into, like,
skateboarding,

surfing, snowboarding
at a really young age.

Because when you grow up
in a beach town, you're kind of,

like, thrown into the water.

And he always picked up
those sports, like, so fast.

[Landon] I grew up
in Laguna with Cooper.

He was very sympathetic
and empathetic.

Anytime you had a problem
in your life, he would feel

the pain for you.

He kind of knew, like,
no matter what he did in life,

he would become famous
at some point.

[Lydia]
I met Cooper in first grade.

He was a brother-like
friend to me.

His superpower was kind of,
like, everyone

kind of just
fell in love with him.

At the end of high school,
TikTok started becoming

more of a thing,
and we both downloaded it,

started making content,

and messaging other creators
and becoming friends with them.

[Taylor] TikTok was seen
as a teenager's app.

It had evolved in 2018
from this app called Musical.ly,

which was for kids basically
making like lip-syncing videos.

TikTok took off so rapidly
because it felt new and fresh.

[Parker] I think for my brother,
he saw like so many people

doing so well on TikTok,
dancing and making millions

of dollars a year
at 17 years old.

And I feel like he always was
like, "I need to make the most,

I need to do this,
I need to do that."

If you're trying to make it
in the entertainment world

or on the internet
as an influencer,

L.A. is the place to be.

It's really a land
of opportunity.

Moving up to L.A.
happened, and then

Cooper and his adult life
kind of started.

[Taylor]
COVID hits in March 2020,
and millions and millions

of kids are suddenly
bored at home.

Kids are just watching TikTok
on their phones

like television, scrolling
through content endlessly,

and the app takes off.

On TikTok, everyone was
just dancing.

[Sevryn]
The TikTok boom was not
just a culture shock for me.

I think everybody that has
a phone, because you have

people whose lives have changed
just from posting one video.

I posted me dribbling
a basketball,

shirtless, of course.

And then my life started
to drastically change.

The influencer industry
exploded overnight.

You had millions and millions
and frankly billions of dollars

being poured into the online
influencer industry.

The money that kids in L.A. made
was outrageous.

Everyone was so brandable.

We were all so eager
to create content

and a brand for ourselves.

So something fun and innocent
turned into like

full-time jobs for us.

[Taylor]
Gen Z was where it's at.

That's who every single brand
wanted to reach.

TikTok was totally new.

It was a really effective
marketing tool.

So brands were just dumping
money into this space.

Influencers earn money through
brand deals, often in exchange

for a post or a shout out,
or sometimes even just

following a brand's page.

[Sevryn]
Cooper, quite literally,
was my first

male friend in Los Angeles.

On TikTok, a lot of people fall
in love with what they see.

But I think when you met
Cooper, you kind of fell

in love with what you felt.

If you wanna go follow
my Instagram, I would love that,

'cause I just posted
a photo, too, so.

[Landon]
His fame kind of went along

with the growth
of the app.

Like it's not like overnight,
he just blew up.

Like he continuously just
continued to grow and grow

and grow and grow and grow.

[indistinct]
[chuckles]

[Landon] I think it's just
the combination of him being

like an enjoyable,

genuine, nice person
on top of him also being

in the right place
at the right time.

Just gonna say I'm ripped.

[Hunter] I came to know Cooper
from a photo sh**t

that I was doing.

His brand was fully
just himself.

He loved to be goofy.

He loved to dance.

He was unbelievably
comfortable on camera.

That was always so funny,
'cause he always would like

check his jaw and make sure
he looked great.

It developed from creative
into like him being

my little brother
pretty -- pretty quickly.

He was only 17 at this time.

He would just randomly text me.
That's what he says.

He says, "Yo, elegant.
You like that word?"

I said, "I love that word."

He said, "What other things?
I'm trying to brainstorm

brand sh*t right now."

I started working
with some influencers living

in content houses,
and it was one

of the craziest things
I've ever seen in my life.

They were making millions
of dollars by doing these dances

or brand deals or just
being handsome or pretty

or whatever it is --
like, that's really

what it came down to.

These houses pretty much
just took over L.A.

They were all living
in ten-million-dollar mansions.

Sway House was one of the most
successful ones of all of 'em.

[Taylor] Sway House was like
the One Direction of TikTok.

Yeah, it's really small.
I don't know if you like it.

Yeah, it's really small.
Horrible location.

[boy] Yeah, I know.
It's terrible.

You had the main Sway House
guys, and then you had

sort of like extended universe.
I would put Cooper in that.

Like, Cooper wasn't
officially in the Sway House,

but he was always around.

And he was always
in the videos.

Content houses was
the party scene.

There was a party every night,
every -- like,

getting blackout every night,
like, and, like, waking up

and drinking White Claws
and, like, going through

the day, like,
am I even kidding?

-It was just havoc.
-Yeah.

-Really?
-Yeah.

You pick up these young boys
from Middle of America

and drop them in Los Angeles.

They're so mesmerized
by this beautiful place,

have these mansions
that are being paid for.

Of course they're gonna
invite girls over.

Of course they're gonna
party hard.

They're kids, like,
these are their college years,

technically.
So it makes sense.

The boys in Sway definitely
helped Cooper to build

up his following,
because these boys were

so recognized on the internet.

[Taylor] Cooper got
to one million followers

before the end of 2020.

I love you guys so much,
and I'm still adding

people to group chats.

[Parker] Cooper definitely
meshed his personal life

and his social media
presence together.

Like, how you saw him online is
how he was in real life.

He was just himself.

[Lydia] He posted his skating.

He posted him being
with his friends.

He posted how he was
feeling, happy or sad.

My hair is so thick
and long right now.

He kind of used TikTok
as a diary.

This is my second time playing.

We'll get better.

[Sevryn]
Cooper's influencer network
was Jaden Hossler,

Nessa Barrett,
Sabrina Quesada.

Cooper was the glue
to all the friendships.

[Hunter]
Jaden took him under his wing...

as like, a --
as a brother.

Jaden's sleeping.

They were like, obsessed
with each other.

It's like they just found
their mirrored person,

you know, brothers.

[Jaden] Me and Cooper were just
always together.

It was literally like
I met my soulmate.

Off rip, we just had like,
very deep conversations

and we connected
more than I think I've connected

with anyone else
in my entire life.

[Sevryn]
I believe people like Jaden,
Nessa, Sway gained such...

you know, tangible traction
at that time

because they were
kind of the pioneers of TikTok.

I mean, they just had such
a massive influence.

Whatever they posted
became trend.

Taking Nessa, Jaden,
and Cooper at that time

with all of their followings,
personal brands,

and throwing them in one post,
it's like take Elon Musk,

Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos,
and when you combine them,

it becomes unstoppable.

Like, comment, subscribe.

Follow me on everything.
Unfollow him.

They already did.

[Parker] There is serious money
to be made as an influencer.

In L.A., Cooper was definitely
supporting himself

through the money
that he made on TikTok

at 17, 18 years old.

I know one brand deal he did
was $20,000 for, like,

a 15-second video.

Not bad.
[chuckles]

Cooper and Sabrina started
dating in 2020.

-[Joely] Are you excited?
-[Sabrina] Yeah.

Have you done a couples
challenge yet?

[Parker] Sabrina was living
in a house of all girls.

-And you guys are so fun.
-Thank you.

It was a content house.

Her energy was radiant, like,
she just had this, like,

positive energy and, like,
aura surrounding her.

And I just felt
good vibes from her.

And so immediately I was like,
"Oh, I like her."

He picked a good one.
He picked a really good girl.

-Good morning, everybody.
-[Cooper] Good morning.

[Hunter] They did the whole
love story thing, you know?

[Cooper] What time is it?

[Hunter] She was like
the angel in his life.

True, true angel and someone
who was there for him

and was able to keep him
grounded and keep him healthy

and happy and safe.

I feel like Cooper's content,
especially with Sabrina,

like, they loved to see, like,
this young couple content,

like, in love.

Like, that was very
on brand in the time.

So people just resonated
with him and loved

his friend group,
loved his girlfriend.

[Sevryn]
Relationships inevitably
do well on social media,

especially during that,
like, TikTok house time,

where relationships
were super popular,

everything had an M
next to the views.

We're gonna be married.

[man] You're gonna be married
in 10 years.

Yeah, we are.

[Hunter]
I think social media was used
as a tool for Cooper

to spread positivity.

But I also think it was
almost a drug in a sense,

because you're craving
this attention,

you're craving these likes,
and he really wanted them.

And we had some conversations
about turning likes off

because it was messing
with his head sometimes.

You're walking around with
like a score above your head,

and you can't let
that score drop.

[Parker] With or without
a social media presence,

there's gonna be haters
in your life.

And with him having
a huge following,

opened that door up even more.

Social media is a game where
it's either you play the game

or you get played.

[Landon]
There's a lot of eyes on you.
Not everyone is

your friend on there.

It was kind of like
this looming feeling waiting

for...the darkness.

It's so hot in L.A., God.

Yeah.
Yeah.

People think influencing is
so easy and you show up

and you take your selfies
or whatever.

That is not true.

Making content is exhausting.

It's creative labor.

Not only do you have
this sort of like physical

pressure cooker of being
surrounded by influencers

who you're directly
competing with,

you have brands
pressuring you,

you have the entire mechanics
of the internet

pressuring you where, you know,
if you don't post every day

on TikTok, your reach is
gonna drop.

There's just this anxiety
and stress underlying all of it.

[Hunter] Cooper was doing great.

He had great numbers on TikTok,
but the bar was set to a height

that was ridiculous.

[Parker]
Cooper saw the shift in TikTok
from dancing, and then saw

his friends start picking out
what career paths they wanted

to go down.

And Nessa and Jaden both
picked music.

That's when he started
to really panic about, like,

what the future holds for him
and what his purpose is.

And it added that pressure
of like, "Who am I?

What am I gonna be?"

[Cooper] I wanna be a model,

fashion designer, actor.

Uh, I wanna learn
how to produce music.

Also wanna do real estate,
investing.

[Hunter] On top of that, I mean,
the whole industry

was partying.

And with partying
comes late nights,

comes drugs, comes loneliness.

And, you know, I think
he just found himself

in the middle of Hollywood,

and, you know,
it's a difficult place to be,

especially for someone
so young.

[Parker]
Cooper was in Vegas with Jaden,
and he took some pills

and overdosed.

Yeah.

Addiction is something
that he struggled with

his whole young-adult life.

I think he was trying to hide
a lot of pain that he was in.

[Parker]
Growing up, Cooper began
getting bullied at school,

probably from a young age.

I think Cooper was picked on
because he was super sensitive.

Bullying, he definitely
took to heart.

I remember he would have come
home crying at times.

I did hear about him being,
like, disruptive during class

and, like, teachers being like,

"You need to take your son
to see a specialist.

"Your kid is clearly, like,
ADD, ADHD.

"Go to a doctor so the doctor
can load him up on meds

"because every time a doctor
writes a prescription,

it's just a check."

After him being prescribed
the Adderall, there was

major changes
within his personality.

He was losing weight,
having trouble sleeping,

way more mood swings,

just became like
a zombie nightmare of a human.

Cooper started smoking weed,
and then it eventually led

to whatever was stronger...

being Xanax-plus.

The Adderall medication is
like a prescription meth,

and then a Xanax,

or like weed is a downer
to calm that.

So when you're like here,
you need to -- you wanna feel

normal again,
you take the downer

so you could balance the two.

I remember that my mom
only kept him on the medicine

for eight months, but in those
eight months there was

obviously drastic changes.
And then she took him off.

But I still think
that like, he liked...

what the other drugs
were doing to him.

Jaden definitely saved
Cooper's life.

He held Cooper
when he was overdosing,

and he came back to life.

I was with him during
that whole time,

and I just love this kid.

And I felt like I had to write
a song about it.

"Tell Me About Tomorrow" was,
you know, for Cooper.

It was entirely for Cooper.

I would tell him, like,
dude, just, like,

it's gonna get better.

And in my head, I was saying,
you just gotta, like,

tell him about tomorrow,
you know, like,

get him to hold on to tomorrow.

♪ You try telling me
a thousand lies ♪

♪ There's no need to apologize,
it's not your fault ♪

[Hunter] It was just like
this beautiful thing

to write an entire album
with dedication to your friend

about the importance
of being there tomorrow.

♪ At night when you feel
all alone ♪

♪ I'll tell you about tomorrow ♪

Jaden's song definitely
encouraged Cooper

to get the help that he needed.

[Jaden] I am pulling out Cooper
at Lolla, and I'm gonna

introduce him to the world.

Yeah, but, no --
but dude, tell 'em

about the song we have.
It's called "Secretly In Love."

On tour, there was this girl
just crying

in the front row, sobbing.

Cooper jumped off the stage
and went down there

and hugged this girl
and held her.

Later that night,
that same girl messaged him

and found his Instagram
and said,

"I was planning on taking
my life that night.

"You made me feel seen,
made me feel heard,

made life not feel like
I was alone."

And I just thought like, "Wow."

[Cooper] It's just actually
kind of funny.

Cooper was like
the light on tour.

He just wanted
to bring happiness and...

just loved the journey.
He loved watching the shows

and hanging out
with Jaden and the guys.

-Thank you, dude!
-Hello.

[Cooper] So pretty.

I get to see my girlfriend

for two days.
-For two days!

Two whole days.
I'm very blessed.

Super lucky.

[Lydia]
Being on tour with Jaden,
Cooper saw the impact

he was having on other people,
he physically got to talk

to those people and hug
those people, and I think

he was starting to realize
that he saved a couple people's

lives, and it was part
of his mission to be

that voice to some people.

I get DMs all the time saying,
like, "You're helping me

so much."
Like, it's amazing.

Like, "I'm so glad you're
doing this."

Cooper realized his struggles
with addiction could help

other people going through it,
and so he decided to be

more open about that side
of him.

Talking has been a really big
part in, onestly,

my sobriety, too, 'cause
if I, like, wanna do drugs,

I can't just keep that
to myself, 'cause if I do,

I'm gonna do drugs.

That's why I talk to you,
I talk to Sab,

I talk to Jaden.

[Parker] I'm glad that he had
a friend like Nessa

that he felt comfortable
to talk to.

[ominous tones playing]

[Taylor] On April 21st,

ablaze when Sabrina puts
a post up on her Instagram

announcing that her and Cooper
have broken up.

[Sabrina]
I've never actually talked
about this online.

-[Luna] Really?
-[Sabrina] Nobody knew
why we broke up.

When you're like, romantic
with someone that's dealing

with addiction,
it's like, so hard.
-Yeah.

It wasn't as simple as like,
like, "I make you happy.

That's enough."
That was never it.

-There was nothing else
I could give him.
-No.

[Hunter]
Sabrina was an incredible
influence on him.

And, you know,
when that safe space

is gone from you,
you start spiraling

to a place where
you shouldn't be going.

[Taylor]
Not long after the breakup
with Sabrina,

more trouble was
ahead for Cooper.

[Holly] Nessa Barrett and Jaden
have officially confirmed

they are broken up.

Your best friends go through
a breakup

while you go
through a breakup.

It's tough, you know?

[Hunter] A side had to be taken
in regards to if Cooper

was gonna be friends with one
of the two after the breakup.

When he had to decide
between Jaden versus Nessa,

I think that's what broke him.

I remember being on the road
with Jaden, and Cooper

would call me sobbing,
just wanting to be friends

with both of them.

So I was kind of middleman
in communication

for a lot of their conversation.

There was a lot of immaturity,
a lot of finger-pointing

and blaming happening.

[Cooper]
I still check up on him a few
times, but one time he didn't

answer, so I stopped talking
to him for the rest of the tour.

Cooper takes Nessa's side.

[Hunter]
Nessa is an incredible human,

but she also struggles,
you know?

[Nessa]
Me and Coop are really just,
like, working on a lot

of things that revolve
around mental health

just because we have gone
through crazy [bleep]

when it comes to, like --
we've actually lived it.

And if I'm being honest,
I think we're both really proud

of ourselves
and how far that we got

despite everything
that we went through.

[Hunter] He was very much
with Nessa a lot.

And Cooper being an empath,
he wants to be able to feel

what you're feeling
and go through

what you're going through.

And he also didn't want to ever
rock the boat with her.

[Cooper]
Me and him had some issues
without Nessa.

It was just a him and I thing,

like, a little bit before
that I'm not gonna speak on.

I literally feel so lucky
to have you as a best friend.

[Sevryn]
Cooper never wanted to see
anybody struggle or hurt.

He doesn't have
that safety net of people

to talk to anymore.

So maybe you go back
to what was familiar to,

you know, at least
suppress it for now.

He started going downhill,
like, really bad

in a downward spiral.

[Hunter]
He wanted so many things
to happen

that were out
of his control.

And the only thing he could
control at that point was

whatever substance
he was taking.

Losing Sabrina and Jaden,
like, back to back definitely

made the situation worse.

Having that stress
about Nessa and Jaden

and a side,
made it worse.

Him looking at his friends
like, "They're following

their dreams and they know
exactly what they want,"

made it worse.

People started to realize
that he was using again

and people started to back off.

Cooper started hanging
around a bad group of friends,

like, after the breakup and not
being friends with Jaden.

And I definitely 100% know
that they were enabling him.

Cooper posts an incredibly
unsettling TikTok live.

This is my passion, my passion
is to help people.

[sniffles]

[Hunter] I watched
that TikTok live of him

where he was crying and...

Oh, man.

I could just tell he was
on substances, and I saw

like a pill bottle
in the background,

and I called him right after.

He said it was something else.

[crying] That's just not cool.

And if you know people
who are so fake sh*t,

[bleep] that...

I told him, "I know
you're taking drugs.

"I need you to stop.

I need you to throw away
all your Xanax.

And he sent me this video
of him pouring all his Xanax

down the toilet.
And he's like crying.

He's like,
"I'm gonna get better."

But it's just some other person
that had kind of taken

over his body at this point.

But there was something
in there who still

dreamed of
being that famous kid.

And so getting the opportunity
to go on "BFFs" was

like, a dream of his,
like, he loved the podcast,

he loved Josh.

[Taylor] Cooper goes on "BFFs,"

very big and successful podcast
co-hosted by Josh Richards

Dave Portnoy
and Brianna Chickenfry

-Like no hard feelings.
-Definitely no cheating.

[Hunter]
The unfortunate reality was
he was heavily on substances

during that point.
-What does that mean, sorry.

So you wanna repeat
that question?

But maybe don't use
as tough words.

-Yeah, sorry, I am pretty dumb.
-[voices overlapping]

[Hunter]
And wasn't the way he should
have been on that show.

And the reaction was
pretty negative.

Co-hosts are accused
of bullying Cooper.

[voices overlapping]

-Are you wearing a crop top?
-No, no, no.

-Yeah, he is.
-[Brianna scoffs]

You can't be a normal person
and wear what he's wearing, but.

-He's not a normal person.
-Correct.

Which sparks
a huge online backlash.

[Parker] It was just, like,
disgusting how they were

treating Cooper.

But, like, Dave's personality
is kind of just

like a d*ck
and everyone knows it.

I don't believe a word
you just said.

-Really?
-[Dave] Really.

[Parker] It was hard to watch.

I know doing that interview
and how it aired upset Cooper

because he told me, and he told
other people close to him.

But of course online,
like, he was just like,

"Yeah, I was fine."

But it wasn't.

[Taylor]
Cooper sets up a Discord server
for anyone to join and share

their mental health issues
in a safe and supportive space.

Yo, what's up, guys?

I have just created
a Discord server

meant for mental health only.

[Taylor]
Discord is a community chat
app that allows for much longer

and in-depth communication
versus Instagram.

A lot of kids get a lot of help
from Discord servers.

This is a place where
they find community,

especially when COVID hit.

He just had an epiphany
one day

and was like, "This is it.

"Mental health --
this makes sense.

"I'm struggling right now,
but I want to help others

that are struggling
in this moment."

And that's why
he did the Discord.

Come join.
We'll have the link in my bio.

[Parker]
When he started the Discord,
he told me and my mom that,

like, he was, ready to
get sober.

But if you quit, like,
drugs and alcohol,

cold-turkey, there could be
some side effects

like seizures and death.

You have to, like,
slowly get yourself off

of what you are addicted to.

And so that's what, like,
he was in the process of.

Yeah, let me know if you
wanna see more of it.

[Parker] 'Cause I knew
he was struggling so much,

I would wake up and be like,
"Hi, I love you.

What you doing today?"
Like, every single day.

And so that morning,
I texted him saying, like,

"Dad's B-day tomorrow."
He said, "KK."

And I said,
"Do we get him something?"

"Find something for him."

And I said, "Like what?"

And then no response.

And that was the day.

-[ominous tones playing]
-[phone buzzing]

He called me in the middle
of the night.

I hit him back in the morning.

He's like,
"I'll give you a call."

I tried calling him again.
He didn't answer.

[phone buzzing]

Cooper called me, and we were
talking, and he was just

slurring his words a lot,
like, really bad.

I was like, "Hey, I can't
understand what you're saying.

It's kind of breaking up.
Can you just text me?"

Got hung up, and I never
got a text back from him.

I woke up with, like,
this really bad feeling

and, um, started reaching
out to friends,

asking if they heard from
Cooper this morning.

And they all said, "No."

So then I texted Parker,
and I was like,

"I'm gonna go look for him.
Do you wanna come with me?"

So I went and picked Parker up,
so we started driving.

We were trying to get
his location on Find My Friends,

but his location was,
like, not moving.

It was, like, last seen, like,
three hours ago or whatever.

Hunter's crying, driving,
speeding to Burbank,

which was where
his last location was.

[Hunter] And then Treva,
his mom, called

while I was driving.
-[phone buzzing]

And Parker had her on speaker.

And she just screamed.

It's like --

[voice trembling] something
you'd hear out of a movie.

I've never heard
that noise come out

of a person's body before.

It was...

everything a mom could,
like, possibly feel.

It was like, "Cooper's dead!
Cooper's dead!"

Like, screaming, but, like,
I wasn't, like, processing it.

Like, it just seemed,
like, fake.

And then my dad grabbed
the phone and was like,

"Cooper's dead, come home,

and we'll see you
when you get here."

I'm just, like, sobbing,
crying, like...

I just, like,
didn't know what to do.

So I drove Parker home,
and then I left

to go tell Jaden.
We all just, like, broke down.

And I was in shock
for a second, and then I just,

like, completely lost it.

[Landon]
It was a fatal overdose.

I remember just immediately
just started, like,

bawling my eyes out.

[voice trembling] My heart sank.
I wanted to throw up.

[Parker]
Because of his social media
influence and followers,

every news outlet picked it up.

Felt like the whole world
posted about it.

I am just so shocked.

I've literally been watching him

since the start of 2020
at TikTok.

Friend of mine who, um,
lost his life yesterday,

and I...

The phones were just flooded.

A lot of condolences,
a lot of "I'm sorry"s.

He was a young kid with one
of the most beautiful smiles

I've ever seen,
and I wanna dedicate

this song to Coop.

Jaden Hossler
just recently posted,

"Life without you isn't life,
it's just something I can do

until I see you again."

With a video of
these two on stage.

I didn't even realize
the impact he had

on these people
until after he passed.

[Nessa]
I mean, he changed my life,

but when he left, I died too.

You add social media to it
and it makes it

ten times harder.

I want you guys to not be
alone, and feel safe.

[Bill] Last significant case was
the death of Cooper Noriega.

It was meaningful to me
because it was the death

of a young man with a whole life
ahead of him.

Immediately, police recognized
this was an overdose situation

or a drug poisoning situation.

On June 9th, 2022,
Cooper Noriega went

to the Burbank Town Center,
a mall located in a suburb

of Los Angeles, to purchase
some oxycodone pills.

Cooper had apparently
taken a pill

and died before even
getting back to his car.

Someone else saw Cooper down,
called 911,

but it was just too late.

Cooper's family definitely
wanted this death investigated.

They suspected
there was foul play.

Oftentimes,
state law enforcement

would just chalk it up as an
overdose, and they'd say,

"accidental death" and move on.

A big part of what
DEA has done

is try to convince local
police departments to look

at these cases differently.

Look at them like a m*rder.

I believe he didn't intend
on losing his life that day.

I believe that he was trying
to get himself fully clean,

trying to take less
and less and less amounts,

and that one pill that he took
unfortunately wasn't safe.

Family, friends, everyone felt
guilty because you always feel

that sense of, like,
"I could have done more,

I could have been there,"
but, like, we were all there

as much as he would
allow us to be.

[Bill] At autopsy, the coroner
must determine that,

but for fentanyl being
in the system of the victim,

that victim would have lived.

And in this case, that took
about six months.

It was a long six months
of waiting to be reassured

what we thought it was,
which was a fentanyl poisoning.

[Bill] The reality was these
weren't oxycodone pills.

These weren't even oxycodone
pills laced with fentanyl.

These were actually
fentanyl pills.

It can take as little as
two milligrams of pure fentanyl

to k*ll someone.

That's not much.
That's the tip of a pencil.

So why would a drug dealer
sell fentanyl

when it's extremely dangerous,
when it can cause death?

The answer is
it's incredibly profitable.

Teenagers are the experimental
drug takers in our society,

and they're the ones that are

falling victim
to this deception.

The drug cartels have taken
a drug 50 times more powerful

than heroin and made it look
like an innocuous

little colorful pill half
the size of an Advil tablet.

It's marketing genius.

Big Pharma did the marketing
for the current-day

Mexican drug trafficking
organizations.

They marketed oxycodone
in such a way that it became

an extremely popular drug.
It was used recreationally.

As society recognized
what was happening,

recognized the addiction,
prescriptions started

immediately dropping
starting in 2012.

But what happened
in every year since 2012?

Fentanyl deaths went up
in the United States

because that's when the Mexican
drug cartels stepped in.

They said, "There's a market
for prescription drugs

"in the United States.
The supply is being cut off.

We can counterfeit
these drugs."

Now there was a specific
cause of death.

This was a huge step forward
in this investigation.

Now this case
could be prosecuted.

The next thing we have to prove
is that a drug dealer provided

the pill that caused the death.

Often the key to the case lies
in the victim's smartphone,

but it can't be unlocked.

No one can get into the phone,
even with subpoenas.

[Taylor]
The investigation has hit
a dead end,

when suddenly they get
a huge break

that unlocks the entire story.

Cooper's father, Harold,
had the access code

to the phone, and he was able
to give that to Burbank police,

enabling them to get
into the phone and begin

to reconstruct the last
several hours of Cooper's life.

It was a huge breakthrough
for investigators in this case.

They found a lot
of communication

with an individual called Alani.

[Hunter]
Cooper was getting pills
from this random guy.

I can't even think of any world
where he would even come

in contact with this human,
let alone, like,

he'd be his dealer.

I didn't know any
of his new friends, but that's

because when you're an addict,
you start becoming really good

at keeping secrets.

I think I take some blame
for the fact that I had him

throw away all this Xanax.

I think he started becoming

more careless
with his purchasing.

[Bill]
The communications between
Cooper and Alani was to set up

a drug deal.

Alani was already
under investigation

in a much larger case
involving the people

that supplied the drugs.

The DEA were able to start
with the distribution of just

a few pills to Cooper Noriega
and work that back up,

connecting it to an already
ongoing investigation

of a drug delivery organization
called Estrada.

Erick Estrada and his wife,
Zoila Estrada, lived

in a very affluent suburb
of Los Angeles called Calabasas.

They laundered their money
through multiple

sham business accounts
and were enjoying the profits

from drug trafficking.

Estrada ran this drug
trafficking business

out of his home,
distributing cocaine

and fentanyl-laced oxycodone.

In essence, he was
the CEO of this organization.

He ran everything.

It was an ongoing,
large-scale criminal business.

The first communication
between Alani and Estrada was

on June 8th, and it was done
by text message.

Estrada forwarded Alani
a menu of the drugs.

Alani asked for 25 pills

and made a promise
that they would do

more business
in the future.

On June 10th, 2022, Alani tells
Estrada one of his friends

who he had supplied the drugs
to died the previous day.

And he kind of reprimands
Estrada for selling drugs

that had fentanyl in it.

But the fact that Alani is
partying really goes to show

the mindset of drug dealers
in this country.

[Harold]
Ten days after Cooper died,
this guy is posting

Instagram videos
about his partying

all throughout Europe.

That doesn't show, to me,
anybody's actions

that they're sorry for
what happened.

Once those two investigations
are linked, investigators then

decided, "Let's try
to take down everybody."

[indistinct shouting]

On November 21st, 2023,
police do raids

on the Estrada organization.

Erick Estrada and Zoila Estrada
were arrested at their house

in Calabasas.

And Alani was arrested
at his residence in Burbank.

I called Cooper's father,
Harold, and told him

people were arrested.

They're gonna be
appearing in court.

And just the emotion in Harold
was something

that I'll never forget.

Just being able to give,
you know, a little bit

of comfort or a little bit
of justice to a family

who lost a young man.

The case is scheduled to go
to trial, but it takes time.

Generally, what happens
with these cases is there's

stretched out
plea negotiations.

Hopefully we prosecute
these mother --

and they rot in jail...

forever.

Growing up, my family
and I had a tradition

of going to Mexico
every year.

And so me, my parents,
and Sabrina headed there

so we could spread
Cooper's ashes in the ocean.

Cooper's manager, Alana,
was like, "You need

to start a foundation."
And my dad was like,

"Heck yeah."
Let's raise a bunch of money

to help someone else
going through these

mental health problems
and get them, like, sober

and get them the help
that they need.

[Harold]
If all we do, from either
money raised or our involvement

can affect and help
just one kid,

it's a success.

Yeah, this is an epidemic
and I think everyone

should be screaming.

With over

Coop's Advice Discord server is
maintained by his family.

Anybody can join the Discord,
doesn't matter where you live.

[Taylor] Cooper's legacy remains
one of compassion for those

with mental health
and addiction issues.

[Parker]
Ever since Cooper passed,
my dad has been involved

in the fentanyl conversation
'cause it's unspoken about.

Not many people are educated
about this topic

and people are dying like,
every single day from it.

It really requires
all of you out there

to understand
what's happening.

You are all being poisoned
for profit.

[Sevryn]
fentanyl is just horrible.

To make Cooper's case in life
a reason that we absolutely

wipe it out of this country
and never see it again.

[soft guitar music playing]

[Hunter]
I'm really sad that it had
to be Cooper that had to be

the lesson for a lot of people,
and it's OK to be struggling

and to talk
to your friends about it,

and it's OK to seek help.

Maybe we can get influencers
to get this message out there,

encourage teenagers to just
make better decisions

when it comes to drug use.

I feel like Cooper lived
a lot of like,

amazing different lives
in his short 19 years.

I think he's helping
a lot of people now,

even though he couldn't
help himself.

Choose to have positive thoughts
your life will change.

April's main goal was to
uplift people.

Nobody was doing TikTok like
Swayv was doing TikTok.

Hey, Boo!

She was on the right path

towards this career that
she really wanted.

When you are well known and
someone is jealous

you become a target.

[g*n blast]

It was hard to watch him talking
about how he would k*ll me.

This is insane.

The FBI?

You want a TikTok'r dead?

She believed there was
something after her.

This is a case of love,
extortion,

and ultimately
cold-blooded m*rder.

Our lives were changed forever.

Never to be the same.