Geneva County Grand Jury Indicts Cochran in 1994 Murder Case

Viewed: 5268

Posted by: Stephan Crews
Date: Nov 09 2009 10:42 PM

The October Geneva County Grand Jury issued a Capital Murder indictment for PATRICK COCHRAN, for the December 23, 1994 murder of sixty-eight year old R.J. McKinsey in Geneva, Alabama.  Cochran was 19 at the time of the offense.  Cochran, who is now 34 years old, is currently serving a 10 year sentence for a Holmes County, Florida conviction for Lewd/Lascivious Battery against a Child 12-15 Years of Age.  He is not expected to be released until 2011 for that charge.   The Geneva County Sheriff’s Office has placed a detainer on Patrick Cochran with the Florida Department of Corrections.  

 

The victim, R.J. McKinsey, was brutally beaten with a fire extinguisher and stabbed multiple times in his home on Hart Street in Geneva, Alabama on December 23, 1994.  Cochran was a known associate of the victim and was a suspect at the time; however, the investigation at the time did not result in charges due to conflicting witness statements.  The case remained on inactive status until December 2007 when Alabama Bureau of Investigation Agent David McGowan, Geneva County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Tony Helms and Geneva Police Department Investigator Ricky Morgan and Geneva County Assistant District Attorney Stephen Smith meet and began a thorough review of the evidence in the case.  Since December 2007 McGowan, Helms and Morgan have worked diligently on this investigation in consultation with the District Attorney’s office to put together this case for trial by re-interviewing witnesses along with the discovery of new evidence.  

 

“I am extremely proud of the effort by law enforcement in this case, said District Attorney Kirke Adams. "They put in a lot of hard work to bring closure to a case that was over 12 years old when reopened.  This investigation was truly a team effort by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Geneva County Sheriff’s Department and the Geneva Police Department.  Hopefully their hard work will bring justice to this victim’s family.”

Press Release Courtesy of Geneva County District Attorney’s Office

 

<- back