BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) Representatives for the State and for Natalie Cochran convened in Raleigh County Court on Friday for a McGinnis Hearing at which the defense continued to assert that additional evidence was still needed.
Assistant Prosecutor, Tom Truman was present for the first court session involving the Cochran case since his appointment by the Raleigh County Commission earlier this week.
Just minutes into the session, the defense requested a recess to discuss matters with the State, a request which was granted by Judge Kirkpatrick and saw participants disperse until proceedings continued at 11:00am.
During the subsequent McGinnis Hearing proceedings it was confirmed that the state would not be introducing physicians as witnesses with regard to purported medical conditions suffered by Cochran and corresponding diagnoses – or lack thereof. The defense also attempted during the proceedings to dismiss claims of Cochran’s participation in a Ponzi Scheme in relation to her previous conviction of wire fraud.
The assertion of Cochran’s involvement in a Ponzi Scheme, according to defense attorney Matthew Victor, comes as part of an attempt by the State to disparage Cochran’s character and to present the defendant as, “walking fraud.” Truman countered that there is no attempt underway to impact any perception of Cochran’s character and that the assertions by the state pertain to various aspects of a singular plan orchestrated by Cochran to conceal her own criminal activity.
“She had scammed a number of people, including the victim in this case. She was about to be discovered and that was her motivation to kill him. It bought her a little more time. It didn’t buy her enough time, because she’s in a federal penitentiary,” said Truman. “This was her plan; this was her design; this was her goal.”
An investigating officer will be brought in at a later date to provide insight to Cochran’s potential involvement in the aforementioned Ponzi Scheme, as Judge Kirkpatrick indicated that additional evidence could be necessary to substantiate the claim given the differential between wire fraud and a Ponzi Scheme.
The defense stated yet again during the McGinnis Hearing that information had yet to be provided by the state with regard to evidence being held by the state with, despite the insistence of the state that the defense had been granted multiple digital downloads of pertinent information.
Judge Kirkpatrick appeared to have begun growing frustrated with the continued efforts of the defense to prolong court proceedings, stating that he intended to move forward with trial on October 28th, 2024, with opening statements set to take place at 9:00am.
