BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – In the wake of Natalie Cochran’s conviction of first-degree murder, her defense team has filed motions for acquittal and a new trial.
Natalie Cochran was convicted of the first-degree murder of her husband, Michael Cochran, with insulin. The verdict came down at the end of an almost three-week trial. Cochran was already in federal prison after pleading guilty to financial crimes in 2020.
In a document submitted to the court on February 4, Natalie Cochran’s attorneys Matthew Victor and Stanley Selden asked the court to consider either acquitting Natalie Cochran or granting her a new trial.
According to Victor and Selden, the court should have granted their request for a change of venue and sequestration of the jury.
They also argued that the bottle of insulin seized from the Cochran house and evidence of Natalie Cochran’s Ponzi scheme should have been excluded from the trial.
Lastly, they argued testimony and displays during the sentencing phase of the trial were prejudicial and should not have been allowed.
“The Jury was exposed to unduly prejudicial exhibits, not introduced in the evidence at trial, i.e. two (2) pictures of the young and smiling Michael Cochran, and two (2) syringes, all designed to inflame the Jury’s passion against the Defendant,” Victor and Selden argued.
In his response, Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman presented a far different opinion.
According to him, there was no need for a change of venue, since the court was able to seat a jury. Further, he said there’s no evidence that the jury violated the court’s orders to avoid coverage of the case during the trial and thus made the question of jury sequestration moot.
He said there were no grounds to suppress the vial of insulin or evidence of the Ponzi scheme, and all of it was relevant in the trial.
Finally, Truman argued that everything done in the penalty phase of the trial was correct, according to procedures laid out by by the West Virginia Supreme Court.
“The jury’s exposure to pictures of Michael Cochran prior to the defendant murdering
him can in no way be considered prejudicial. The jury saw pictures of Michael Cochran
on the floor of his kitchen, collapsed and unconscious as taken by the defendant,” Truman said. “It is without merit to think that the two photos briefly displayed before the jury was so prejudicial that the penalty phase verdict should be set aside.”
A post-trial hearing has been set for February 25 at 9 a.m.
