MOREHEAD, Ky. (Scripps News Lexington/Court TV) — A Kentucky man accused of murdering a mother and her teenage daughter is scheduled for arraignment next week.
Joshua Cottrell, 44, is charged with two counts of murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence. Authorities say he murdered Kayla Blake, 37, and her daughter, Kennedi McWhorter, 13.
(L) Joshua Cottrell, (R) Kayla Blake and Kennedi McWhorter. (Scripps News Lexington)
The mother and daughter were found deceased in their Morehead home last week after Blake’s co-worker conducted a welfare check when she didn’t show up for work, reported Scripps News Lexington.
A complaint warrant reports that emergency personnel found Blake’s body in a back bedroom, and she had “appeared to have been stabbed/bludgeoned.” McWhorter was found dead across the hall and had also been stabbed.
Cottrell allegedly moved the bodies, and neighbors allegedly witnessed Cottrell at the home on Sept. 18.
Law enforcement found Cottrell with “blood on his clothes,” the warrant read. He was located at a Paducah area hospital.
Kentucky State Police confirmed that Cottrell previously served time for manslaughter. In 2003, Cottrell was accused of murdering 36-year-old Richie Phillips in an Elizabethtown motel room, stuffing his body into a suitcase and dumping it. A fisherman found that suitcase floating in Rough River Lake in Breckinridge County eight days after Phillips’ family reported him missing.
At trial, Cottrell told jurors that he killed Phillips in self-defense, saying that he feared being raped by Phillips. A Hardin County jury convicted him of the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter, along with theft and evidence tampering. He was given a 20-year sentence, but with credit for time behind bars before the trial, he was released after 17 years in prison.
Authorities have not said how Cottrell knew the victims, but WKYT reported Cottrell and Blake were dating at the time of the murders.
Cottrell’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 29 in Rowan County.
Scripps News Lexington, an E.W. Scripps Company, contributed to this report.
