BECKLEY, W.Va. (Court TV) — A pharmacist who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded people out of millions of dollars is standing trial on charges she murdered her husband.
Natalie Cochran sits in court on the first day of her murder trial, Jan. 15, 2025. (Court TV)
Natalie Cochran is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Michael Cochran, to whom she had been married for nearly 19 years, when he died on Feb. 11, 2019.
At the time of Michael’s death, Natalie was running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors, including Michael’s parents, out of millions of dollars. She pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal wire fraud and other charges and was sentenced to 135 months in prison.
While financial documents linked Michael to the scheme, the judge at Natalie’s federal sentencing noted her ongoing involvement. “Even while her husband lay dying,” U.S. District Court Judge Frank Volk said, “She was attempting to continue the perpetration of her extensive fraud and even in a more robust and thoughtful way.”
Natalie was originally indicted on murder charges in November 2021, but those charges were dismissed at the request of prosecutors in April 2023, because they wanted to exhume Michael’s body and conduct further testing. Natalie was indicted again on murder charges in Oct. 2023.
While the defense strategy was not made clear during pretrial, Natalie implied at her federal sentencing that Michael suffered from substance abuse. “When Michael began to take steroids and using illicit supplements, he was using far and above the normal doses and processing controversial alternative therapies,” she said. “It became his addiction. … Every day I wish Mike were here. I wish he hadn’t left me to deal with this alone. I wish that he had never started the drugs.”
Natalie, who is still serving her federal sentence, faces a potential life sentence if she is convicted of murder.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 5 – 1/22/25
- At the conclusion of Wednesday’s proceedings, the judge closed the courtroom to cameras to advise Natalie Cochran of her rights. The colloquy was conducted out of the presence of jurors and cameras but then placed on the record that Cochran informed the court that she intended to testify in her own defense.
- The State rested its case-in-chief after calling the WV State Police Trooper who investigated Michael Cochran’s death and said the defendant told him three different versions of what happened to her husband on the day he collapsed.
- In the first interview which took place on April 8, 2019, less than a month after her husband passed. Natalie told Lt. Timothy Bledsoe:
- She and Michael were home together when Michael went into the kitchen and she suddenly heard a thud at about 10:00 AM. She went into the kitchen to find Michael on the floor and discovered a bottle of clomiphene citrate– a supplement to boost testosterone on the counter.
- In a subsequent interview on May 7, Bledsoe said Natalie told him that she and Michael had been sitting together in the living room for about an hour when he went into the kitchen, fell and hit his head on the countertop and ended up on the floor. In that interview she said she found the clomiphene citrate in the cabinet.
- In their third interview which took place the day after -May 8- Natalie told him that they had gone their separate ways in the morning and upon returning home Michael went to sleep on the couch for an hour, then went into the kitchen where he collapsed. In this interview Natalie told that Michael was injecting himself – in the back- with insulin.
- Bledsoe also testified that a review of Natalie’s texts reflected Michael’s actions and mindset and indicated to him that Michael did not know that the business his wife was running was a Ponzi scheme, and that he thought they were making the trip to Lynchburg Virginia to get money from the investments.
- Dr. Paul Uribe, a Forensic Pathologist testified that Michael’s blood glucose at 21 was so low he described it as ‘profound’ and concluded that he was administered insulin and that his manner of death was homicide.
- Uribe testified that an analysis of Michael’s glucose levels suggested that though he responded to treatment, his levels would inevitably plummet – leading him to believe that a massive dose of insulin was dragging down his blood sugar despite the glucose treatment.
- At the close of the State’s case-in-chief the defense moved for a judgement of acquittal arguing there was no circumstantial or direct evidence of premeditated murder. The judge denied the motion citing Uribe’s opinion as being the most persuasive, that the only way Michael could have died was from a fatal dose of insulin.
DAY 4 – 1/21/25
- Medical Examiner Dr. Piotr Kubiczek testified that he did not find a cause of death when he autopsied Michael Cochran seven months after his death and therefore concluded ‘undetermined’ in his report on cause and manner of death.
- Kubiczek said moderate decomposition had set in by the time of autopsy making it impossible to determine whether insulin was used and where the injection site could be.
- Dr. Diane Krieger, an endocrinologist and Diabetes expert testified that when Cochran was admitted to the hospital on February 6, 2019, his glucose level was 21 –severely low –and may have been caused by a massive dose of insulin. Normal glucose levels range from 80 to 100.
- Krieger testified that tests performed before treatment would have determined whether Michael’s hypoglycemia was related to insulin – but those tests were not done. Furthermore, known causes of hypoglycemia such as severe malnutrition and drugs did not appear to be in play in Michael’s case.
- Krieger opined that Michael’s death was related to hypoglycemia which then caused his cerebral edema or brain swelling.
- FBI Forensic Examiner Earl Gliem examined the vials recovered from Natalie’s home and concluded that the cap on the top of the vial containing insulin had been punctured.
- WATCH: Ponzi Scheme Murder Trial: Day 4 Recap
DAY 3 – 1/17/25
- Jason Bowen, a contractor working for the Cochrans said he received a text from Natalie Cochran on Feb 6, 2019, at 12:21 asking him to come to the house because Michael Cochran was sick.
- Bowen said he was on his way from Lowes when he received the text and went straight to the Cochran home where he found Michael laying on the kitchen floor. Natalie asked him to move Michael to the couch.
- Bowen said he tried to speak to him but Michael did not respond and did not react, when his partner Jonathan performed a sternum rub. Bowen testified he told Natalie that he thought Michael should be checked.
- Bowen said he was aware that Michael had been previously hospitalized in November of 2018, but Michael’s diagnosis was not disclosed to him. He said that Natalie told him Michael’s illness was related to exposure to black mold. He recalled that in December Michael complained about feeling dizzy and told him he felt like ‘he’d been poisoned.’
- Bowen said that before Michael got sick on February 6, he said he was planning to go to Virginia.
- Joseph Stephens, an FBI Chemist said he was tasked with analyzing 3 bottles of liquid recovered from the Cochran house after a search warrant was executed. He said two of the 3 bottles he examined were consistent with their labels, insulin and a steroid, a third bottle was not consistent with its label.
- On cross defense suggested that the bottles could not be linked to Michael’s death, and the bottle of insulin – appeared to be full, with no liquid missing and therefore could not have been used to poison him.
- WATCH: Ponzi Scheme Murder Trial: Day 3 Key Moments
DAY 2 – 1/16/25
- Stephanie Hamilton the defendant’s friend and a physician’s assistant testified that Natalie Cochran texted her on February 4, 2019–two days before her husband’s collapse—asking for an injectable steroid. Hamilton offered to administer it for her, but Cochran said she would inject herself.
- Hamilton went to the Cochran home the afternoon of February 6 and found Michael Cochran on the couch sleeping. She said Natalie told her he had a seizure and fell on the floor. She told Natalie he needed to be checked and suggested different hospitals she should take him to but insisted that he would sleep it off. Natalie told her he did not hit his head.
- Christopher Davis, a close friend of the victim testified that he saw Michael a few days before February 6, and he was excited about an upcoming trip to Lynchburg, where he expected to meet with bank executives to get the money he had been waiting for from the federal government.
- Davis went to the Cochran house on February 6, and saw that Michael was prone on the couch not talking or responding to any kind of stimulation. He insisted on taking him to the hospital.
The defense suggested that Michael was hospitalized in November under similar circumstances, but Davis denied he was suffering the same symptoms. In November he said Michael was vomiting and talking, telling him he wanted to go to the hospital. At the time, he thought Michael suffered from black mold exposure. Davis said that Michael was not in distress before February 6, the day he collapsed. - Michael was taken to the hospital but a few days later admitted to hospice care where he died. The primary care nurse who attended to him said she medicated him every 15 minutes to keep him comfortable. She was not aware of his full medical history, but on cross examination defense attorneys suggested he was admitted with a host of physical issues including brain swelling and a heart condition. Glenda Epperly testified that he ultimately died of respiratory failure – his heart and breathing stopped and that his wish not to be placed on life-sustaining equipment.
- A pilot for a local aviation company said he was supposed to fly Natalie and her husband to Lynchburg, Virginia on February 6, but Natalie texted him that morning to cancel the flight. They had talked about rescheduling but it never happened.
DAY 1 – 1/15/25
- Prosecutor Tom Truman opened for the state by accusing defendant Natalie Cochran of poisoning her husband with insulin before he would discover that their government contract business was a Ponzi scheme, which was used rip off their friends and family members to support their lavish lifestyle.
- Defense Attorney Matthew Victor countered by conceding his client was a ‘fraud and a cheat’ but no murderer. He argued that Natalie’s husband was driving the business and that he was not the picture of health but a time bomb – his well-being compromised by steroids and questionable supplements.
- State called as its first witness Robert Hinzmen, former WV State Trooper who investigated the fraud scheme that ultimately led to Natalie’s federal conviction on wire fraud and unlawful money transactions. He explained that Natalie solicited investments under the guise that her company would be profiting from federal government supply contracts. His investigation concluded she never had government contracts and that she was using money from investors to pay earlier investors.
- On cross defense attorney Victor suggested Michael was deeply involved in the Ponzi scheme and noted he received deposits from his parents and PO boxes used by TSG or Tactical Solutions Group were registered in his name and that he appeared to have no salaried income, while Natalie earned about $120k a year as a pharmacist.
- Jennifer Davis, Natalie’s good friend and neighbor testified Natalie messaged her on February 6, 2019, that she and Michael were sick and that insulin helped mitigate the effects of her cancer. Davis volunteered to share some insulin with her, which her husband delivered to Natalie.
- WATCH: Natalie Cochran Asked Neighbor to Borrow Vial of Insulin
- Davis said Natalie texted her a picture of Michael on the floor later that day. He would later be hospitalized and moved to hospice care. Davis said she visited Michael every day leading up to his death and recalled Natalie telling her, “She said if you could help me hold a pillow over his face, I don’t like seeing him this way.”
- John Hamilton, a family friend who was also a trooper testified that Natalie called him over. He said he thought Michael should be transported to the hospital, but Natalie insisted that he just sleep it off.
- The day got off to a bumpy start when one juror did not show up, telling the judge in an email that she had no reliable transportation, had a son that needed special attention and she talked to someone about the trial after the judge ordered jurors not to. Judge said under the circumstances he would cite her for contempt but ultimately decided not to.
