BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – Witness testimony is continuing in the trial for Natalie Cochran, a former Beckley pharmacist and convicted white-collar criminal. She is accused of murdering her husband, Michael Cochran, with insulin.
The first person called to the stand today was Jason Bowen, a former contractor for the Cochrans.
He testified that he was called to the Cochran house the day that Michael Cochran collapsed, Natalie Cochran had him and another contractor move Michael Cochran from the kitchen floor to the couch.
However, Bowen testified that Natalie Cochran didn’t want Bowen to take Michael Cochran to the hospital.
“Were you and Jonathan Miller capable of loading Mr. Cochrane into a car and taking him to the hospital?” Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman asked.
“Very much so, yes,” Bowen responded.
“Did she ever suggest you do that?” Truman asked.
“No, we actually asked her if she wanted us to,” Bowen said.
“What was her response to that?”
“No.”
During cross-examination, the defense asked Bowen about some of Michael Cochran’s previous hospital visits.
Matthew Victor, one of Natalie Cochran’s two defense attorneys, asked Bowen if he thinks Michael Cochran may not have wanted to go to the hospital, given prior statements Michael Cochran may have made about hating the hospital. Bowen testified that Michael Cochran did not respond to attempts to wake him.
“Just because he was there at home doesn’t necessarily mean that he wanted to be taken to the hospital immediately, does it? Especially as he didn’t like going back to the hospital. Fair enough?” Victor asked.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask him,” Bowen said.
The second witness called was Joseph Stephens, a chemist and forensic investigator for the FBI. He analyzed some of the substances recovered from the Cochran house. He was also admitted as the state’s first expert witness.
According to his testimony, he received three vials of evidence and transferred and analyzed the contents.
One of the vials was full of “Humalog insulin lispro. Ten milliliters, 100 units per milliliter.”
Of the remaining two vials, one contained methylprednisolone acetate, which matched the label.
According to pharmaceutical company Pfizer, methylprednisolone acetate is primarily used as an anti-inflammatory.
The other was labeled enclomiphene citrate. It also included a warning, stating it was not safe for human consumption.
However, Stephens testified that the contents did not match the label and included glycerol and letrozole.
During cross-examination, the defense pressed Stephens on some of the medical effects of insulin. Stephens responded to most of those questions by stating he did not know the answer because it was outside of his area of expertise.
The defense also asked him about a possible puncture in the top of the vial of insulin. Stephens again testified that he was not qualified to evaluate the top of the vial.
“It’s been set forth that there was a puncture in the top of this bottle. Is that correct?” Stanley Seldon, defense attorney for Natalie Cochran, asked.
“That’s outside my area of expertise,” Stephens responded.
Stephens also told the jury that he did not know if any insulin had been removed from the bottle.
“You don’t know if anything was taken out of this vial,” Seldon said.
“That’s correct,” Stephens said.
The court went into recess before noon. The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Jan. 21.