BECKLEY, W.Va. – Natalie Cochran was found guilty last month of using insulin to poison and kill her husband Michael Cochran.
On Tuesday, Cochran was back in court as her lawyers pleaded for actions regarding her conviction.
Cochran’s lawyers filed for a motion of acquittal and asked for a new trial for Cochran, saying the popularity of the case likely tainted the jury who ultimately convicted her. They cited a documentary and a podcast revolving around the trial as evidence of this.
“I believe to this day that it was impossible to obtain a fair and impartial jury and that the case should’ve been moved to another county where the exposure of Natalie Cochran to the hostile glare of the community would not be as pronounced as here,” said defense attorney, Matthew Victor.
Victor and fellow defense attorney, Stanley Selden asked for the trial to be moved before the trial but the request was denied.
Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman says the defense had every opportunity to question the jurors before the trial and says there’s no evidence they were biased.
“There were no surveys done. There was no marketing testing done, there’s nothing. They say we just think the community is hostile towards our client and that’s not enough. It should never be enough,” said Truman.
Cochran’s attorneys also argued that the circumstantial evidence alone was not enough to grant a conviction and that an insulin bottle seized as part of a search warrant should’ve been excluded from court.
Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick disagreed with the arguments and denied the motion for acquittal and a new trial.
“We went through everyone with a fine tooth comb. The folks answered our questions honorably and fairly. The court finds that we had a completely fair jury,” said Kirkpatrick.
Cochran is expected to appeal the decision against her. It’s expected that a new attorney will take on that appeal.
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