Latest news with #NatalieCochran
NBC News
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Watch the Dateline episode 'The Devil's in the Details' now
Beckley, West Virginia. It's the kind of place where neighbors turn to family. Where weekends mean barbecues and Little League games. The kind of place where two people can build a beautiful life. Michael and Natalie Cochran had done exactly that. A dream home. A growing business. Two beautiful kids. And then, everything changed. Natalie told friends she'd been diagnosed with leukemia and needed aggressive treatment. Then, Michael died suddenly. The doctors said it was a medical mystery. Well, it was certainly a mystery. One that would end up being just the tip of the iceberg. And when investigators got to the bottom of it, they would uncover a twisted trail of betrayal. Watch the full episode 'The Devil's in the Details' on Peacock now. You can also watch on the NBC app or listen to it on our podcast. When you're done with the episode, you can watch Michael's loved ones remember him as a joyful, magnetic person who never knew a stranger. Plus, listen to this week's episode of Talking Dateline with Andrea Canning and Blayne Alexander, in which they take you behind the scenes of filming the episode.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Judge denies Natalie Cochran's request for an acquittal in husband's murder
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The special judge who presided over Natalie Cochran's murder trial in the death of her husband, Michael Cochran, denied her request for an acquittal during a post-trial hearing in Raleigh County Circuit Court on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. The hearing was a precursor to defense attorneys' plans to file an appeal in the case within the next 30 days, the time allotted by state law. In a televised trial which drew national interest, jurors found Cochran guilty last month of first-degree murder and denied her request for mercy, recommending that she spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole. Special Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick ordered her to serve the sentence recommended by jurors. In post-trial motions, defense attorneys Matthew Victor and Stanley Selden argued that Cochran's jury pool had been tainted due to extensive publicity before the trial, that an insulin bottle admitted into evidence should have been excluded and that the circumstantial evidence prosecutors presented was not enough to warrant a conviction. Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman disagreed. 'Unfortunately for the defense, they have no evidence to support any of that, and so they were all denied, and that's really just a prerequisite to perfecting an appeal,' said Truman, following the hearing. Types of donations communities need after a disaster Raleigh County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ashley Acord added that an oral argument not included in the written motions was also made by defense attorneys during the hearing. 'That was that jurors may have had a misunderstanding of the mercy phase or that they completely disregarded the judge's instructions in the mercy phase,' said Acord. 'We do not agree with that supposition.' She said defense attorneys had based on the argument on post-trial interviews that were conducted with jurors. Truman said that, due to Judge Kirkpatrick's experience and conservative rulings in the case, he does not believe the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia will overturn Cochran's conviction on appeal. Prosecutors say text messages show Natalie Cochran tried to put distance between Michael Cochran and his family, prior to murder Cochran is also serving a sentence of around 11 years in federal prison for operating a Ponzi scheme from 2017 to 2019. Prosecutors argued during her trial that she killed her husband to prevent him from finding out about the fraud. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Fayetteville Water Quality Board hosts meeting discussing latest stormwater project
FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WVNS) – The Fayetteville Water Quality Board hosted a meeting on the evening of Thursday, January 30th, to discuss The House Branch Drainage Basin Project. It is an ambitious project to help address flooding issues in the Fayetteville area. No mercy found for Natalie Cochran in murder trial This project will include work along Maple Avenue, Lively Street, Laurel Street, and Windsor Lane. 'We do see more and more big rain events here in Fayette County and in southern West Virginia in general. We want to make sure we are prepared for those and that we are using taxpayer money in a way to make sure we're protecting our residents.' Gabe Pena, Chairman of the Fayetteville Water Quality Board Dozens of locals came out to attend the meeting, many of whom came with questions regarding the project. Representatives say they were happy with the questions they received at the meeting. 'It sounds like the community is very supportive of the project, we got some really good feedback. We'll be able to use that feedback to go back to our drawing board and really work on the design, refine our design, and be able to put out a better product for the community.' Kenneth Kinder, Project Manager with E.L. Robinson Engineering This is just the beginning of the project, with construction set to start in the summer of 2026. They hope to finish it sometime in 2028. Katherine Johnson: the woman, the mother, the icon This project has been in the works for the past few years and Fayetteville locals are excited to see work finally start. 'This has been a problem in our area for over 50 years, even longer! As a child, this was an issue and so I think it's very important that we address it.' Sharon Cruikshank, Mayor of Fayetteville Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
29-01-2025
- CBS News
West Virginia pharmacist convicted in poisoning death of her husband
A West Virginia pharmacist already serving a federal prison sentence in a fraud case was convicted Wednesday in state court for killing her husband. Jurors found Natalie Cochran guilty of first-degree murder in Raleigh County Circuit Court, CBS affiliate WDTV reported. The jury now must determine whether Cochran would be eligible for parole after serving 15 years. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Cochran's husband, Michael Cochran, 38, died in February 2019. Prosecutors said Natalie Cochran poisoned him with insulin so that he wouldn't find out about a $2 million Ponzi scheme that she admitted to operating from 2017 to 2019. Natalie Cochran was originally indicted on a first-degree murder charge on Nov. 19, 2021, in her husband's death, CBS affiliate WOWK-TV reported, but prosecutors dropped the charge in order to re-exhume Michael's body for advanced testing by forensic pathologist Dr. Paul Urbie. The results of that testing showed that Michael Cochran died because nonprescribed insulin was introduced to his body, the station reported. Urbie also concluded Michael's death was a homicide, WOWK-TV reported. Natalie Cochran was sentenced in March 2021 to 11 years for pretending to be a government contractor and defrauding investors out of millions of dollars. Federal prosecutors said she tricked investors into thinking she owned two successful businesses with government contracts. Authorities said she never invested the money, instead using some of it to buy a 1965 Shelby Cobra classic car, two properties and jewelry. Several people in recent months have been accused of using poison to kill their spouse or partner in the U.S. Last October, a North Dakota woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the poisoning death of her boyfriend. In October 2023, a poison specialist and former medical resident at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota was charged with fatally poisoning his wife, a 32-year-old pharmacist who died in August. In May 2023, the author of a children's book on grief was accused of killing her husband by poisoning him with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in Utah. And, in March 2023, a Colorado dentist was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder after police say he laced his wife's pre-workout shakes with arsenic and cyanide.
