New trial date expected in Cochran murder case

Josephine Moore, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·1 min read

Nov. 30—The trial for Natalie Cochran, a Daniels pharmacist charged with murdering her husband, will likely not take place until 2023.

A pre-trial hearing for Cochran is scheduled to take place 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Raleigh County Circuit Court Judge Robert Burnside's courtroom.

Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield said the trial was initially set to start on Dec. 12 but neither side is ready to proceed to trial just yet.

"It is a case that's not ready really from either side to go to trial," Hatfield said.

Hatfield said he expects a new trial date to be set during the pre-trial hearing on Wednesday. He added that the trial will likely be moved to the summer of 2023.

Cochran was charged in November 2021 with first-degree murder for the death of her husband, 38-year-old Michael Cochran, who died in February 2019.

Cochran is currently serving an 11-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute-Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, W.Va., for one count each of wire fraud and money laundering.

Cochran pleaded guilty in 2020 to federal charges for operating a $2.5 million Ponzi scheme.

Her sentence began in May 2021.