Prosecutors say text messages show Natalie Cochran tried to put distance between Michael Cochran and his family
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ashley Acord are among those who will appear on a two-hour special segment of '20/20' which showcases the crimes and guilty verdict of Natalie Cochran, who is convicted of killing her husband with insulin in February 2019 to hide a Ponzi she was operating through the couple's businesses.
A trial in Raleigh County in late January and the first week of February of 2025 was livestreamed on CourtTV.
Truman told 59News, prior to the airing of the show, that Natalie Cochran was a 'puppet master.'
'She had everybody dancing at the bottom of their little strings,' said Truman
Prior to what is likely the most-watched trial in Raleigh County's history, Truman, Acord, and their office manager, Susan Delp, examined thousands of texts from the couple's cell phones, Truman said.
Study shows West Virginians pay most for utilities
He said it showed Natalie Cochran used subterfuge to complicate her husband's relationship with his mother and stepfather, Donna and Ed Bolt.
During the mercy phase of Natalie Cochran's trial, defense attorneys suggested the Bolts had not had a close relationship with him.
Ed Bolt, who said he thought of Michael Cochran as his son, testified that Natalie Bolt set up visits with the Bolts to see the Cochrans and sometimes told them Michael Cochran was not feeling well and did not want to visit.
Donna Bolt testified Natalie Cochran had 'lied' to others about her relationship with Michael Cochran, which Donna Bolt said remained close.
Prosecutors said text messages from the couple's phone seemed to show that Natalie Cochran tried to distance Michael Cochran from the Bolts.
'It was all Natalie,' said Acord. 'There were things that did not come into evidence because some people did not take the stand in the way that we had planned, but we have text messages that show it was Natalie that was keeping Michael away from his family.'
No mercy found for Natalie Cochran in murder trial
On Febuary 6, 2019, the day she administered insulin to kill Michael, Natalie Cochran did not notify Donna Bolt, a retired nurse, of her son's illness until he was already in intensive care at a Charleston hospital, according to Truman.
Although she did not notify Michael Cochran's mother that he was seriously ill, prosecutors displayed texts showing Natalie Cochran reached out to multiple people and texted a picture of Michael Cochran, apparently unconscious in the couple's floor.
Although multiple people entered the house and urged her to get medical care for her husband, Natalie Cochran said her husband did not like hospitals and that he would let him 'sleep it off,' according to witnesses.
Some witnesses, including the Cochran's 17-year-old son, testified Michael Cochran was domineering.
Defense attorneys suggested Natalie Cochran was following her husband's orders by not taking him to a hospital and that Michael Cochran would likely have had knowledge of the couple's businesses dealings because of his higher status in the marriage.
'On the surface, that's exactly how it appeared,' said Truman. 'We had the traditional 'Christian' household, where the man is in charge, the man calls all the shots, but this defendant (Natalie Cochran) was so good at manipulating and deceiving people that she was calling the shots the whole time.'
Natalie Cochran is serving a sentence of more than 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges related to a Ponzi scheme she operated in Raleigh County from 2017 to 2019.
She was sentenced in 2022 and ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution.
Natalie Cochran found guilty of first-degree murder of Michael Brandon Cochran
Natalie Cochran was ordered by Special Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick to serve a life sentence in state prison for her husband's murder.
Jurors recommended that the court not show mercy to Natalie Cochran, which means she will not be eligible for parole.
Natalie Cochran is the first West Virginia woman convicted of murder since 1989 to not receive a recommendation of mercy, Truman said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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