The trial of a woman charged in connection with the 2014 murder, dismemberment, and dumping of 53-year-old Michigan resident Christopher Regan in Iron County, MI will continue in Thursday as the prosecution continues calling witnesses.
Kelly Marie Cochran, 34, faces charges related to the death of Regan, who police have said they believe 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 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.
On Wednesday, the prosecution continued continued calling witnesses, including two forensic analysts who examined the bullet wound found in Regan’s skull after police say Cochran led them to the body. Prosecutors also called a supervising officer at the jail in Kentucky where Cochran was held after she was initially found by Michigan investigators. The Kentucky jailer testified via Skype to finding a homemade shank made of sharped eyeglasses in Cochran’s cell. She was held at the jail in Indiana after investigators located her in the state after she allegedly fled Michigan.
The final witness of the day was an Indiana police chief who spoke to Kelly after learning of the death of Cochran’s husband – the man police in Michigan say actually killed Regan. The Indiana police chief testified to speaking with Chochran about her then-husband’s death, but he said she seems somewhat evasive during questioning and told stories he did not believe it. The Indiana cop told the jury he believed if Cochran was truly scared of her husband she would’ve told him that she feared for her life and come clean about her then-husband’s death. He also described whether he heard Cochran mention an “out” during her interview.
“Well, you know, during that conversation, I told her that she could decide to be a witness or a suspect,” the Indiana police chief said during his testimony, according to UPMatters.com. “And at that given moment, she could have said, “‘let me tell you right now what happened.'”
Also on Wednesday, the state called Detective Jeremy Ogden, of the Indiana police, who testified about gaining the trust of Cochran and getting her to tell him what happened with Regan. According to Ogden, he, along with the-Iron County Police Chief Laura Frizzo, persuaded Cochran into telling them the location Regan’s remains.
The jury also watched a video of Cochran reenacting the murder, according to local reports.
The trial was originally expected to last three weeks, but is now running ahead of schedule after the prosecution dropped five witnesses it had planned to call. Testimony is expected to resume on Thursday with additional prosecution witnesses.
Nearly 16 months after Regan’s death, police in Indiana accused Cochran of killing her then-husband (Jason, the man police say shot Regan), and of attempting to cover up the death as though it was a heroin overdose. She faces separate charges in Indiana related to that death and while in jail she has reportedly claimed responsibility for additional deaths, though police have been unable to verify any additional claims at this time.
Cochran faces a life sentence in the charge of homicide-open murder; up to a 10-year sentence on charges 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.
[image via screengrab]
