GUILTY WV - Michael Cochran, 38, allegedly killed by wife in ponzi scheme, Feb 2019 *arrest*

[arielilane]

Judge just walked in. Attorneys are reviewing the exhibits that have been admitted which the jury can view while they’re deliberating.

Judge is giving kudos to the jury. He said they have been excellent. Have not complained and have been engaged for the three weeks of the trial. I think all the treats the judge has provided have helped.



...that carries a life sentence, a jury decides, after hearing testimony whether the sentence will be life with or without mercy. If #NatalieCochran is convicted on first degree murder and she is granted mercy on her life sentence she will be eligible for parole after 15 years.


Also I don't think Court TV is streaming attorneys talking today. I can't find their live on YouTube. Most of the day will be jury deliberations which is relatively boring unless they ask questions.
Court TV WILL definitely be streaming when there is a verdict.


Jury walked in laughing and smiling. Judge said he got them sausage biscuits today. They've been very good sports considering what they're being asked to decide on.


Judge is releasing alternate jurors. But he said they can hang around if they want to know what the verdict is or they can "run like turkeys" and escape.


Judge - anyone want to tell a joke before we get started....hopefully that I'm not the butt of.Judge - ok this is series.Judge is now sending the jury on their was for deliberation.(Isn't he just the best)

So I don't forget - jury deliberation began at 9:34 a.m. on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1884611648880603259

 

[arielilane]

@Jozy_Elizabeth


They're saying the jury has reached a verdict. It's been just under 2 hours.

guilty #NatalieCochran

#natalienunnscotty Cochran hearing she is guilty for murdering her husband




Michael's parents also in tears but for a different reason I'd assume.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1884642585420906947

 

[Snoopster]

So the jury will be back in the courtroom tomorrow morning for the "mercy" phase of the trial, where they will determine whether NC will be eligible for parole or not. Her children will likely speak on her behalf. (Those poor kids.)

 

[bluefantastic]

This all feels kind of strange to me- it seems like the prosecution never proved anything beyond that she /could/ have murdered her husband, not that she actually did. I think it’s entirely possible that she did, but IMO they didn’t prove it to the point of “without a reasonable doubt.”

 

[joe jones]

This all feels kind of strange to me- it seems like the prosecution never proved anything beyond that she /could/ have murdered her husband, not that she actually did. I think it’s entirely possible that she did, but IMO they didn’t prove it to the point of “without a reasonable doubt.”

Agree, I think it's highly likely she did it, but I would have voted NG, I think it's highly likely she used insulin but still don't think state proved it,
And I don't often comment on courtroom demeanour as they are all told to sit their and not react by there attorneys, but the meek, demure woman presented in court is not the real NC, that woman in court was not the woman who convinced people to give her there life savings,
And once again we are witness to another domestic homicide, that has ripped families apart again, so banal in it's repetition, the children clinging to a mother who has killed their father, whether they think she did or not at present she is a convicted murderer, their whole childhoods forever altered, growing up with neither parent, his family broken, the friends, the saddest testimony was about the boy whose father dies and Micheal became his father figure, only for him to die, that was lump in throat testimony, and NC and all she has lost, imagine what she could have achieved if she had used her talents for good,

 

[scapa]

This all feels kind of strange to me- it seems like the prosecution never proved anything beyond that she /could/ have murdered her husband, not that she actually did. I think it’s entirely possible that she did, but IMO they didn’t prove it to the point of “without a reasonable doubt.”

Tend to agree.

She's clearly (and actually, given her federal convictions) a crook, and equally clearly had devised and run her scheme without fear of involving -- or scamming -- her family, including husband.

But it wasn't clear to me how and why she committed this murder, if murder it was. Perhaps those in the court heard stronger and more compelling evidence.

 

[wvmoonangel]

**Found Guilty** https://www.wvnstv.com/top-stories/natalie-cochran-found-guilty-of-first-degree-murder-of-husband/

**Sentenced to life without Mercy** https://www.wvnstv.com/top-stories/no-mercy-found-for-natalie-cochran-in-murder-trial/

 

[Snoopster]

Tend to agree.

She's clearly (and actually, given her federal convictions) a crook, and equally clearly had devised and run her scheme without fear of involving -- or scamming -- her family, including husband.

But it wasn't clear to me how and why she committed this murder, if murder it was. Perhaps those in the court heard stronger and more compelling evidence.

I think the fact that she discouraged anyone taking Michael to the hospital PLUS the fact that she told two different stories about how he collapsed, shows deception around his death. The friends (I forget the family name) also vehemently argued about the NC's statements that she provided insulin to their son. They absolutely thought she was honest until she obviously lied to them about Michael's death and used them as part of her 'alibi'.

That was enough for me to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that she was guilty.

ETA: There's just NO way a pharmacist would allow anyone, let alone their beloved, to lie there unconscious for 7 hours before taking them to a hospital. And, if he supposedly (story #2) hit his head so hard on the counter that it caused a dent in the counter, then of course a head injury check would be immediately imperative!! Natalie can't have it both ways (i.e. "it was just a seizure" and "he slammed his head").

My verdict: guilty as sin...beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

[Snoopster]

I just finished watching the "mercy" phase of the sentencing. The jury would have none of Natalie's nonsense. Life without parole!

She gaslit her husband in front of her kids. She convinced them that the fraud was all Dad's fault, when clearly it wasn't. She hasn't shown one iota of regret. She doesn't care that her children have lost their father. She didn't shed a tear until her kids said they wouldn't see her. (i.e. it's all about her). She scrunched up her face a lot, but I didn't see tears (other than when she was found guilty...so again, tears for herself).

Admittedly it doesn't seem that Michael was a perfect person (taking steroids is not a good example for your children), but none of us are. And that doesn't mean he deserved to die.

I believe that Natalie is a sociopath and engaged in 'good acts' to attract investment in her business. In the mercy phase of the trial the defense (and those testifying on NC's behalf) said she did many kind things and donated money. That was other peoples' money and the donations were all about making her look like a saint. There was much talk about her doing good "Christian" things in prison. I think she just knows how to play the game. "Christians are good." "non-Christians aren't". I hate when people use church to prove that they are good. There are good and bad people both in the church and outside the church.

The other thing that bothered me, was when the defense said that the jury should consider the cost of keeping NC in prison. Is this a thing that is put forth for people of less privilege, who commit crimes that are about survival? I don't think it is.

NC murdered her husband with forethought. She killed the father of her children. She tainted her children against her dead husband. She stole money from friends and family. This is incredibly evil in my view.

 

[bluefantastic]

I agree that she’s clearly a bad person, but the purpose of a court trial isn’t to determine whether or not someone’s a good person, it’s to prove that someone’s guilty of the specific crime of which they were accused. Bad people are still entitled to the full protection of the law, or what else is stopping a cruel person in a position of authority (in some other situation) from smearing an enemy in the public eye and then getting them locked away without due process?

 

[joe jones]

I am also of the opinion that he was involved in the Ponzi scheme, all that sudden wealth did not come off the money tree, and he was an IT specialist with access to the business that was the one the Ponzi scheme operated from, he had to have known,
he was enjoying all the benefits, new homes, motorbikes, cars, buying his wife expensive diamonds, when he would have seen no evidence of these government contracts being successfully bid on, or anything done to facilitate filling the contract,
I think he was in over his head on understanding how it all worked, and was probably embarrassed when his family and friends started asking about their investments, and would then maybe say Natalie will sort it out, but he knew that the business was not legitimate, and was a willing participant
They should have had a good life without resorting to fraud, she earned about 120.00 a year from her pharmacy job, he didn't seem to be making a lot of money from his IT business, so maybe he began to look for ways to make more money, or she wanted more than 120$ could provide, who knows who first broached the subject.
I think her motive in killing him was to throw him under the bus and blame it all on him, and I think she factored in still getting people to invest post his death as an indication that she fully believed the business was legitimate as she believed what her husband told her would have been her excuse.
I think with MC dead she thought she could play the greif stricken widow and LE would just think MC was the fraudster and she would have got away with it all, I also think she may have initially wanted to make his death look like suicide, which would have solved all her problems,
I expect she will appeal, highly unlikely to be successful,

 

[Snoopster]

I agree that she’s clearly a bad person, but the purpose of a court trial isn’t to determine whether or not someone’s a good person, it’s to prove that someone’s guilty of the specific crime of which they were accused. Bad people are still entitled to the full protection of the law, or what else is stopping a cruel person in a position of authority (in some other situation) from smearing an enemy in the public eye and then getting them locked away without due process?

I totally agree with you that bad people shouldn't be automatically be assumed to be guilty of other crimes. And the justice system has guardrails set up to protect against that bias.

But I (and clearly the entire jury) believe that she killed her husband. She let him lie unconscious for 7 hours! She initially told others that he had a seizure. And then when he was close to death she told people he hit his head on the counter. Which was it?

And she told her kids that their Dad was responsible for the fraud. She pretended that she wasn't involved, when text messages proved that she was. This was to convince her kids that their dead father was the bad guy. Shameful!

 

[arielilane]

@Jozy_Elizabeth


NO MERCY - life in prison for #NatalieCochran for the murder of Michael Cochran



5:19 PM · Jan 30, 2025


First sentence of my story for tomorrow's paper: #NatalieCochran, a former Raleigh County pharmacist serving 11 years in federal prison for running a $2.5 million Ponzi scheme, will spend the rest of her life behind bars for the murder of her husband, Michael, in Feb. 2019.



6:15 PM · Jan 30, 2025


All I can say is that I’m incredibly disappointed. (I will still delete all overtly hateful posts but I think in this, the picture speaks for itself)




…. "We've just been fighting for the last six years. I mean, nobody wins here, but at least we got justice for Michael."


#NatalieCochran murder trial - no mercy on life sentence for first degree murder of her husband Michael Brandon Cochran. We're so glad it's over. We're so tired. We're so tired," said Donna Bolt, Michael’s mother….




My view of the “no mercy” verdict for #NatalieCochran

https://twitter.com/x/status/1885156603252376046

 

[arielilane]

I dont ever recall seeing an officer of the court (in this case defense attorney) flying the bird. moo

 

[arielilane]

There are not too many photos of the victim Michael Cochran. Here's one I found.

Cochran found guilty in husband's murder; jury convicts after deliberating the case for 2 hours - WV MetroNews

Testimony in mercy phase begins Thursday.

wvmetronews.com

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This is my personal favorite from the article: "Tactical made donations to Shady Spring Middle School's football department and raised more than $32,000 by donating semi-automatic weapons as bingo prizes in February at a fundraiser at Shady Spring High School."
[BBM] Unbelievable!

yeah! Pretty wild isn't it.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

View attachment 561991
There are not too many photos of the victim Michael Cochran. Here's one I found.

Cochran found guilty in husband's murder; jury convicts after deliberating the case for 2 hours - WV MetroNews

Testimony in mercy phase begins Thursday.

wvmetronews.com

omg... here, she even looks like Khouri Richins... the Utah woman who also poisoned her husband...but got away with it for a while. She even wrote a children's book about grief....
She screwed her kids for life too.............

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“We have worked on this tirelessly, it has been, like Tom said, an uphill battle,” Acord said. “I am so happy that this jury saw through her and saw through what she is, I’m sorry for her family and for her children that they have to live with this now knowing that she will be behind bars for the rest of her life, but I do believe this is justice served.

Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick sent Cochran straight to prison Thursday evening. A post trial hearing has been set for February 25 at 9 a.m

Raleigh County Prosecutors react to verdict following trial of Natalie Cochran - WV MetroNews

Former pharmacist begins life with no mercy prison term.

wvmetronews.com

 

[arielilane]

Dont think NC will be singing "Almost heaven, West Virginia" anytime soon. imo

Natalie’s sentence will run concurrent with the federal sentence she is currently serving. Judge Volk set a formal sentencing date of Feb. 25 for the murder conviction.

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES​

• The jury of 8 women and 4 men returned a ‘no mercy’ verdict after about an hour and 20 minutes of deliberation, condemning Natalie Cochran to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
  • WATCH: Natalie Cochran Shown No Mercy As She’s Sentenced for Husband’s Death

WV v. Natalie Cochran: Ponzi Scheme Murder Trial

Natalie Cochran will spend life in prison with no chance of parole for murdering her husband, Michael Cochran, while running a Ponzi scheme.

www.courttv.com

 

[jbc]

I have been following along in fascinated horror.
Because, so many men are closer to being Michael then they will ever know.
Of course he knew about the scheme.
Was he about to blow her cover, having just learned about the depth of family betrayal?
Could he have been so oblivious that he didn't know that he was complicit in bankrupting his own family?
Or, was she a black widow - lying in wait until just the right time when she could move on - tired of the mundane life with him since high-school?
So she could ride off into the sunset with her kids in tow?

Any insiders here? Thoughts?
Where does Natalie go now? I hope her time is hard.
Good riddance lady.