GUILTY MS - Donna Cochran, 44, found murdered, Carthage, 11 Aug 2010

[TGIRecovered]

I am glad you had a safe trip. I didn't realize you had to travel so far, no wonder you were tired!

I think you did a great job of sleuthing out the talk from around town!

Keeping in mind that none of it came from any official source, the info about the gun makes sense to me. I think it would have been kind of strange for a person who does cash business from their home in an isolated rural area not to have a gun around. The question is - who else knew where the gun was hidden? And, what kind of robber shows up without a weapon of his own? The theory of robbery as a motive for this kind of murder is looking less and less credible to me!

With talk of the possibility that Donna was killed earlier in the evening than previously assumed, I think that it is even less likely that some stranger was able to look the place over, determine that Donna was there alone, commit the murder without anyone reporting gunshots and leave the area without anyone noticing a strange person or vehicle.

We need a list of facts vs. rumors, so we can keep things straight. I will try to put a list together later tonight, unless someone more organized than me wants to volunteer!

Thank you so much for the info jokie!

 

[jokie7348]

Just dropping in to see if there was any new info. I wonder where AnneOakley and Kris 10 have disappeared. I checked all the newspapers and TV stations every day, but there has been no further information.
I still hope there will be justice for Donna!

 

[anneoakley63]

Just dropping in to see if there was any new info. I wonder where AnneOakley and Kris 10 have disappeared. I checked all the newspapers and TV stations every day, but there has been no further information.
I still hope there will be justice for Donna!

Hi Jokie, I'm still here. Been a long 3 weeks at work. I'm going back home (Carthage) the last weekend of September and hope I can get a little information while I'm there. I'll be sure to update everyone when I get back. I'm hoping there will be more information before then, but if not maybe I can do a little digging while I'm there.

 

[jokie7348]

Hi Jokie, I'm still here. Been a long 3 weeks at work. I'm going back home (Carthage) the last weekend of September and hope I can get a little information while I'm there. I'll be sure to update everyone when I get back. I'm hoping there will be more information before then, but if not maybe I can do a little digging while I'm there.

Anne, it's so good to know that you are still here. Sorry to hear that you've had a hard time at work.
I"ll be looking forward to hearing anything you glean while in Carthage.

I am still working on the Shondra May case. Let me know if you hear anything about it as well. I think that there may have been some new info found, but don't want to post it as rumor.

Have a safe trip!

 

[anneoakley63]

Any updates on this case? Everything sure has been quiet.

Jokie, I follow another site and there has been info posted regarding the SM case. I won't post any of it because I'm not sure how credible it is...but if the poster is correct it could blow that case wide open.

 

[jokie7348]

Any updates on this case? Everything sure has been quiet.

Jokie, I follow another site and there has been info posted regarding the SM case. I won't post any of it because I'm not sure how credible it is...but if the poster is correct it could blow that case wide open.

Hi, Anne. I would be very interested in that site. Can you enlighten me? Or will I find it if I google Shondra's name? TIA

 

[jokie7348]

Think I may have found it. Starts with "T"? If this is the site, I have posted there and forgot! I am almost sure I know "insider" and her brother whom she accuses. Hopefully, the MBI sargeant will take her info and run with it. Justice at last? I hope so.

 

[Snoopster]

Hello everyone. I'm just made it through all of the posts on this case. Poor Donna. I'm so sorry for her loved ones.

I thought I'd post a photo of the tack shop so we can refer to it easily. (If anyone has link to a close up of the tack shop, let me know and I'll try to post it too.)

The above images were from:
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=12991799

 

[jokie7348]

I think it might be good if the posts on Shondra's case were moved to her thread. I don't know how to do that.
Snoopster, thanks for the pics.

 

[Snoopster]

What we know so far:

- Donna's husband, MC, was the last person to see her (he reported 7:30 p.m.)
- MC worked all evening and night with Donna's father
- Donna's daughter saw a light on in the tack shop when she got home that evening (it must have been after dusk)
- DC did not show up for work, as a dental assistant in Jackson, the next morning
- MC's father found Donna's body the next morning at ~8:30, when asked to go check on her

- Donna's body was found behind the counter
- she had been shot in the head twice - in the back of the head and in the temple
- the gun used was a .25 caliber
- the door was unlocked; there was no sign of forced entry
- money was missing from the bankers bag in the tack shop

Rumors/heresay/observations:
- Donna usually locked the door when working in the tack shop
- the Cochran's had a .25 caliber gun kept outside or in the tack shop; it is missing
- the tack shop is set well back from, but it is visible from, the road
- the window of the tack shop just above the counter is broken. The hole is not big enough for someone to have entered or exited.

Let me know if I have missed something key, made errors, or categorized something wrong (fact/rumor) and I will update it.

 

[Snoopster]

IMO based on the above, in particular due to the fact that the door was unlocke and no sign of forced entry, the possible scenarios seem to be:

1) Someone who she knew killed her.

2) Someone was staking out the tack shop for robbery (or other crime) and Donna came out of the building. The perp approached her, threatening her, forcing her to take him inside for the money. Then he killed her so she couldn't ID him. (I'm leaning toward her coming OUT of the building, since I would be surprised if someone would be just watching at the time she headed over there to go in. The 'coming out' scenario might be more probable since the light might have attracted a potential robber.)

3) Someone came up to the window, broke it, threatening to shoot her if she didn't open the door and hand over any money she had in there. She opened the door, went behind the counter for the money and he shot her and took off with the money.

I don't buy that he shot her through the window. How would he have gotten in without forcing entry?

In either of scenario #2 or #3, the perp could have ended up using her gun against her, if she went for it.

Thoughts? Alternatives? Most likely? Let's debate.

No one should have to die that way....with so much to live for in their life.

 

[TGIRecovered]

My :twocents: says this was not a robbery gone bad, it is a murder, hastily covered up.

I base my opinion on the placement of the headshots, and the coincidence that the murder appears to have happened at about the time hubby left for his overnight stint at pop-in-law's chicken ranch. I have no reason to call hubby's character into question; in fact, locals seem to think very highly of both Donna and her husband. If a person wants to kill off a spouse, what better alibi than to have his/her own parents tesitfy that you were with them all night?

Other information (from locals, not LE), indicates that there were no particluarly regular hours of business at the tack shop. I am actually surprized to find that they kept any significant amount of cash there at all. I would have assumed that they would do plenty of debit, credit, or checks from people they knew. So, why would this little workshop-looking barn attract your average robber looking for cash?

If she pulled a gun and they had fought for it, she would surley have other bruises or contusions, but the sheriff said she had no other injuries, and even then, a robber would grab the gun and run or fire off a quick shot. The killer was precise in the placement of the shots, whis says to me that he/she was not in fear of someone else walking in or attracting attention with the noise of the shots. They knew they were alone, that no one else was in the house or on the property.

(forgive typos--cooking while typing...enchiladas, yum!)

 

[Snoopster]

Good logic, TGIR. (And I hope the enchiladas turned out!)

Has anyone seen any mention as to whether the Cochrans have a safe? And, if so, is it in the house or the tack shop? Where did they keep their business cash between bank runs?

Someone mentioned that they had been robbed a couple of times in the past. (I guess I should add that to the rumor list.) Was it their house that was robbed or the tack shop? Was anybody home at the time?

 

[TGIRecovered]

Good job on the list!

Jokie posted this rumor from what the locals were buzzing about last weekend. I don't know which location the money was stolen from or if a police report was made. I don't know if the exact wording makes a difference, but in my opinion a robbery would imply a confrontation forcing a victim to hand over the cash, whereas "stolen" sounds more like someone took it when no one was looking.

Jokie, what do you think?

Anneoakley, we are eager to hear about your Labor Day weekend!

 

[jokie7348]

Good job on the list!

Jokie posted this rumor from what the locals were buzzing about last weekend. I don't know which location the money was stolen from or if a police report was made. I don't know if the exact wording makes a difference, but in my opinion a robbery would imply a confrontation forcing a victim to hand over the cash, whereas "stolen" sounds more like someone took it when no one was looking.

Jokie, what do you think?

Anneoakley, we are eager to hear about your Labor Day weekend!

Good morning, TGI,
I was told that money was missing from the Cochran's house on two occasions. Donna's husband thought that someone had come into the house at night while they were sleeping and stole the money. I know this sounds unlikely, but once when I was living in the country, we had a burglar come in through an unlocked kitchen window while I was sleeping and stole money. In a rural area, people are sometimes careless with locks because it seems so safe. Hope this further explains what I posted. Again, because I was told this by a resident of the area, I will call it RUMOR only. JMOO

 

[jokie7348]

Just checking in to say that I have not found any updates on the case. The local paper, The Carthaginian, comes out weekly on Thursdays. So it was the first place I checked this morning. There was not even a mention of the ongoing case nor the reward for information. I am totally frustrated! It would seem that the local paper could at least keep Donna's murder in the forefront.
I also checked the Jackson paper, The Clarionledger, and the TV stations. Nothing. Just nothing.

 

[TGIRecovered]

Any updates on this case? Everything sure has been quiet.

Jokie, I follow another site and there has been info posted regarding the SM case. I won't post any of it because I'm not sure how credible it is...but if the poster is correct it could blow that case wide open.

I have been hoping to hear back from anneoakley63 about her weekend in Carthage.

Anneoakley, where are you? Help me out, I can't take the suspense! If the info comes from a comment on another site, it's okay to just write what it said but not a direct, word-for-word quote. Just make it clear in your post that it is not from an official source and must be considered rumor unless or until an LE or media source verifies it.

 

[anneoakley63]

Hi TGIR, I won't be going home until the last weekend of this month. I'm looking forward to going home, but also very curious about what I might find out. One thing I know about my hometown is that everyone can be very tight lipped in a case such as this.

As for the SM case, there is a poster who states it was her brother who murdered her. This is only rumor and hasn't been verified.

Jokie have you heard any updates on either case?

 

[jokie7348]

Hi TGIR, I won't be going home until the last weekend of this month. I'm looking forward to going home, but also very curious about what I might find out. One thing I know about my hometown is that everyone can be very tight lipped in a case such as this.

As for the SM case, there is a poster who states it was her brother who murdered her. This is only rumor and hasn't been verified.

Jokie have you heard any updates on either case?

No, nothing at all.
However, I did read the T**** board, and I saw the info you are referring to. I'm pretty sure I taught this poster and her brother. Although I never thought of him as a suspect, he was definitely and strange bird. There were some extremely rough dynamics in the family as well.
Hope you have a safe trip. Keep us posted!

 

[TGIRecovered]

Hi TGIR, I won't be going home until the last weekend of this month. I'm looking forward to going home, but also very curious about what I might find out. One thing I know about my hometown is that everyone can be very tight lipped in a case such as this.

As for the SM case, there is a poster who states it was her brother who murdered her. This is only rumor and hasn't been verified.

Jokie have you heard any updates on either case?

Oops! I am sorry, I didn't realize that your post that I quoted wasn't referring to a break in this case,( Donna Cochran). I was wrong about which weekend you were going home as well...I'll be more careful next time!

I'm off to check out Shondra's case on the proper thread!