BECKLEY, WV (WOAY)—In a hearing yesterday, Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick denied all of Natalie Cochran’s defense team’s motions for judgment of acquittal and a new trial.
Cochran appeared in person in court wearing an orange West Virginia Department of Corrections orange jumpsuit and ankle and wrist shackles. She was convicted of murdering her husband, Michael Cochran, with insulin after a nearly three-week jury trial last month.
The defense made several arguments in support of those motions, many of which were laid out in the motions that were filed two weeks ago.
During the hearing, Cochran’s defense attorneys argued the jury was swayed by public opinion and the trial should been moved to a different county.
Her team also said the jury should have been sequestered.
The permissibility of some evidence was also a major issue raised by Cochran’s defense attorneys. They argued the bottle of insulin seized from the Cochran house was irrelevant and should not have been admitted as evidence.
The state pushed back against all of those claims. Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman told the judge there is no evidence that the jury was tainted by outside media coverage or public sentiment.
Cochran will also be represented by a different attorney on appeal. She has thirty days to file it after being resentenced to restart the timer.
We will continue to keep you updated.
