On this day in Music History - December 11, 1964 Sam Cooke was shot and killed in a Los Angeles motel. According to court testimony, Cooke picked up a 22 year old woman named Elisa Boyer at a party. He promised her a ride home but they ended up at a motel. Boyer claims Cooke forced her into the motel room and began ripping her clothes off. She managed to escape while he was in the bathroom. While she called police from a phone booth, Cooke began pounding on the office door of the motel's manager