A former West Virginia pharmacist was convicted of killing her husband of 19 years by injecting him with insulin — all to keep him from finding out about a $2 million Ponzi scheme she was running.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, a jury in Raleigh County found Natalie Cochran guilty of first-degree murder in the 2019 death of her husband, Michael Cochran, 38, CBS News reports.
Cochran burst into tears when she heard the guilty verdict, which the jury reached in two hours, WV Metro News reports.
She is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2020 to federal wire fraud and money laundering, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of West Virginia.
From 2017 to 2019, prosecutors said she ran a $2 million Ponzi scheme, posing as a government contractor and defrauding investors out of millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Instead of investing money investors gave her, prosecutors said she used the money to buy real estate, jewelry and a 1965 Shelby Cobra, the U.S. Attorney said. She was also ordered to pay nearly $2.6 million in restitution.
During her murder trial, prosecutors said Cochran killed her husband when he became suspicious about a government contract business they owned, Court TV reported.
Prosecutor Ashley Acord argued that Michael Cochran was growing increasingly worried about money he was expecting from the business, which Natalie Cochran was going to be unable to produce, Court TV reported.
Natalie Cochran had to either “come clean or take him out,” Acord argued, according to CourtTV.
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On the day Michael Cochran died, she told friends he wasn’t feeling well, Court TV reported.
When friends urged her to take him to the hospital, Natalie Cochran said she would let him “sleep it off,” CourtTV reported. He died five days later.
Her conviction carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, CBS News reports. On Jan. 30, the jury will decide whether Cochran will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years.
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Authorities say that the pharmacist, who has not been named, allegedly injected her husband with a lethal dose of insulin in order to collect on his life insurance policy and cover up the fact that she had been running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars.
The scheme reportedly involved the pharmacist promising investors high returns on their investments, but instead using their money to fund a lavish lifestyle and pay off previous investors. When the scheme began to unravel, the pharmacist allegedly resorted to desperate measures to cover her tracks, including murdering her own husband.
The pharmacist has been arrested and is facing charges of murder, fraud, and other related offenses. The case has sent shockwaves through the community, as friends and neighbors struggle to come to terms with the heinous crime allegedly committed by someone they once trusted.
As the investigation continues, more details are expected to emerge about the pharmacist’s motives and the extent of her criminal activities. In the meantime, this tragic and chilling story serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of greed and deception, and the devastating consequences that can result from such actions.
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