Whether admitted killer Nathaniel Cook gets released from prison — and under what conditions — likely will be decided when he returns to court Aug. 9.

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Attorneys for Cook, 59, filed a motion for his release in February after he finished serving 20 years in prison as required by his 2000 plea agreement.

While Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Linda Jennings made no decisions at a brief hearing Thursday, she indicated she would determine Cook's status as a sex offender, and, more importantly, rule on his motion for release at the next hearing.

“Just so that Mr. Cook understands, on that date, the court will address all the pending motions?” Cook's attorney, Pete Rost, asked.

“That's correct,” Judge Jennings said.

WATCH: A look back at the Cook brothers case

The court initially set the hearing for Aug. 16 but moved it up a week to accommodate Charlene Cassel, a clinical psychologist at the Court Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Toledo who recently evaluated Cook.

Mr. Rost said afterward that he expects Ms. Cassell to “testify to and elaborate on her report.”

Jeff Lingo, chief of the criminal division of the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office, said that under the sexual offender registration laws that existed at the time, Cook could be classified as a sexually oriented offender, a habitual sex offender, or a sexual predator. The most stringent classification — sexual predator — would require him to register his address with the county sheriff in person every 90 days for the rest of his life.

“I think it would be fair to say the state believes that would be the most appropriate,” Mr. Lingo said.

He met with family members of Cook's victims after the hearing to answer their questions and prepare them for the possible outcomes of next month's hearing.

“If the judge were to follow the agreement and release him then there are certainly many conditions that could be placed on him to monitor his behavior,” Mr. Lingo said.

Conditions could include a GPS monitor and placement in a halfway house. The Reentry Coalition of Northwest Ohio also has said it intends to work with Cook upon his release, and volunteers from the group were in court Thursday.

Steve Moulton, whose 21-year-old brother, Scott, was shot to death in 1981 by Cook's brother, Anthony Cook, was among the family members who attended the hearing and met with Mr. Lingo afterward. He said it's an emotional situation for everyone. All of them have a variety of concerns.

“Some are really upset that there's still a possibility he can walk,” Mr. Moulton said. “Others are concerned about their personal safety. They are scared that he's out and coming after them. Others are worried that they're going to encounter him somewhere or a family member is going to encounter him.”

“The thought of him being out there is just a scary, scary thing,” Mr. Moulton added.

In 2000, prosecutors moved forward with the unusual plea agreement with Cook and his older brother with the consent of the victims' families. By getting the Cook brothers to confess to all of the homicides they’d committed, several previously unsolved murders were cleared up.

Nathaniel Cook pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder and two counts of kidnapping for the May 14, 1980 attack on Tom Gordon, 24, and his girlfriend. Mr. Gordon was shot to death, while his girlfriend was raped and stabbed but survived.

He was sentenced to 21 to 75 years in prison but promised he would be released by the court after he served 20 years — a deadline that passed on Feb. 13.

In his videotaped confession with police, Nathaniel Cook admitted to killing three people with his brother: Mr. Gordon as well as 19-year-old Connie Sue Thompson on Jan. 17, 1981, and 12-year-old Dawn Backes on Feb. 21, 1981.

Anthony Cook, who at the time was serving a life sentence for the 1981 murder of Peter Sawicki, was given a second life sentence for Mr. Gordon's aggravated murder. He confessed to killing seven other people, including Miss Thompson and Miss Backes.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.

First Published July 26, 2018, 6:41 p.m.