Kelly Marie Cochran, 34, was found guilty of multiple charges related to the death of Regan and prosecutors argued he was shot and killed by Cochran’s late husband after he came home to “find” Regan with her. Police say the entire “caught in the act” thing was simply a ruse and Regan was lured to the home by Cochran where he was murdered. Cochran is accused of then helping chop up Regan’s body and dumping it in the deep woods in northern Michigan.
For nearly two weeks, prosecutors called a number of witnesses and played several jailhouse interrogation tapes in which they tried to prove that Cochran admitted to playing a role in plotting and participating in Regan’s death.
Then the defense made the somewhat unusual move of calling the defendant to the take the stand, especially rare in a high profile trial where the defendant is charged with participation in such a heinous crime. Cochran testified for two days and essentially said that everything jurors hear from prosecutors about her role in the crimes was a lie and made up. She also maintained that she was forced to participate by an abusive former husband.
Both sides kept their closing arguments rather short, with the prosecution continuing to hammer on the inconsistent statements Cochran made during various interogations. The prosecution also reiterated its claim that Cochran and her former husband were bonded in blood and had a pact to kill a man.
The defense, however, suggested Cochran was the victim of abuse and there was never any physical evidence linking her to the crime inside the home where the alleged murder took place. Her lawyer also pleaded with the jury to not hold Cochran’s unusual lifestyle and drug use against her when making their decision.
Cochran faced five charges, including a life sentence for the charge of homicide-open murder; up to a 10-year sentence on charge of conspiracy to commit dead bodies-dismemberment and mutilation; five years for concealing the death of an individual; five-years for accessory after the fact to a felony four-years for larceny in a building; and four years for lying to a peace officer-violent crime investigation.
Jurors deliberated for just two hours and ultimately concluded Cochran was guilty of all charges including open murder, larceny in building, conspiracy to commit dead bodies, concealing the death of an individual, and lying to a police officer.
[image via screengrab]
