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[audio logo]
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NARRATOR:<i> Every fraud</i>
<i> begins with a promise,</i>
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<i> but most don't end in a murder.</i>
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TOM TRUMAN: They
were selling the idea
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that you could
make a lot of money
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if you could secure
government contracts.
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NARRATOR:<i> A quick fortune, easy</i>
<i> money, or a life torn apart.</i>
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ASHLEY ACORD: We have this
really cool idea for a company,
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and we think it could
make you a lot of money.
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If you put in $10,000,
you'll get back $60,000.
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NARRATOR:<i> But behind</i>
<i> these illusions</i>
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<i> lie calculated</i>
<i> deceptions, carefully</i>
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<i> hidden in plain sight.</i>
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KERI NIXON: In fraud,
trust is a weapon.
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Without it, you
wouldn't get anywhere.
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NARRATOR:<i> Sometimes</i>
<i> these criminals</i>
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<i> are backed into a corner</i>
<i> and feel their only way out</i>
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<i> is to kill.</i>
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TIM BLEDSOE: After
the initial interview
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was when I really knew in my
gut that this was a murder.
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TOM TRUMAN: Prosecutors love to
have the stuff you see on TV.
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DNA, fingerprints,
videos, confessions.
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We had none of them.
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[theme music]
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- My name is Tim Bledsoe.
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I'm a retired Lieutenant with
the West Virginia State Police
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It's a small community.
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Like most communities
in West Virginia,
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the majority of the people
either know each other
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or know of each other.
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It's a fairly quiet community,
low crime rate, somewhere,
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you know, that you would
imagine would be a good place
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to raise a family.
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NARRATOR:<i> In 2017, Michael</i>
<i> and Natalie Cochran</i>
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<i> and their children were well</i>
<i> known in the local community.</i>
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MICAH LEITH: My name
is Micah Leith,
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and I'm the news
director at WOAY-TV.
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The Cochrans lived in the same
community that they grew up in.
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Michael and Natalie were
high school sweethearts.
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They dated throughout
college, and
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they were married,
and most of the people
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that they became friends
with in the community,
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at least knew of them
their entire lives.
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- I'm Tom Truman, I'm
the prosecuting attorney
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for Raleigh County,
West Virginia.
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The Daniels community
is very tight knit,
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and the Cochrans were
heavily involved,
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especially youth sports.
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MICAH LEITH: Michael was
seen as this very involved
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in his kids' lives.
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He was really into sports.
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He was always bodybuilding
and powerlifting with friends.
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ASHLEY ACORD: My name
is Ashley Acord,
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I'm an assistant prosecuting
attorney for Raleigh County,
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West Virginia.
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Michael Cochran
was very enamored
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with his wife, Natalie.
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He loved his children.
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He was very involved
in their lives
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and in all of their activities.
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He would coach sports, hold
fundraisers, do really anything
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he could to be involved.
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MICAH LEITH: Natalie
was kind of seen
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as the typical-- typical mom.
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She-- she worked a good job.
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She took care of her kids.
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In the community, they
had a pretty high profile.
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They were involved in a lot
of community events
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at church and youth
athletics, which
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in Southern West
Virginia, youth athletics
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are probably
the biggest thing that
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pulls the community together.
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TOM TRUMAN: Natalie went
to West Virginia University,
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graduated from pharmacy school.
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She was such an accomplished
pharmacist that CVS
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paid for her to get an MBA.
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She developed a specialty
with diabetes.
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MICAH LEITH: I can't
overemphasize enough
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how trusted Natalie was.
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Her neighbor more
or less trusted
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her to provide medical
guidance to their child who
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was diagnosed with diabetes.
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I mean, these are people
that grew up with Natalie.
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They knew Natalie
their whole life.
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ASHLEY ACORD: Michael
was definitely
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a more domineering figure.
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He was a man's man, very
prototypical in that way.
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And Natalie was
always his rock,
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like the person that supported
him and was behind him.
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NARRATOR:<i> In June 2017,</i>
<i> the couple started</i>
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<i> a new business venture.</i>
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TIM BLEDSOE: Natalie Cochran
left the profession of pharmacy
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in 2017 to form a business
with her husband
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called Tactical
Solutions Group, or TSG.
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TOM TRUMAN: They
were selling the idea
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that you could
make a lot of money
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if you could secure
government contracts,
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and she would get
people to invest,
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oh, there's all sorts
of money to be made here.
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ASHLEY ACORD:
The government would put out
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a solicitation for something
that they needed,
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whether that was medical
supplies or weapons, or
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anything like that.
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And then these companies
would bid on those contracts
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and would say we can
fill them for this price.
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So Natalie actually
got the idea for TSG
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from watching
the movie<i> War Dogs.</i>
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And in that movie,
they had a company
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that operated the same way
that TSG was purported to work.
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She would tell her
friends and family,
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hey, you know,
Michael and I just
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watched this
really great movie,
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and we have this really
cool idea for a company,
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and we think it could
make you a lot of money.
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And so she would promise
them, if you put in $10,000,
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you'll get back $60,000.
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And people were more than
willing to buy into that
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because they trusted her.
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- They would get the contract,
make the purchases
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and provide them
to the government,
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and the government
would pay them for it.
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That's how it was
supposed to work.
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But in reality, it
didn't work like that.
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NARRATOR:<i> The couple operated</i>
<i> under two company names,</i>
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<i> Technology Management</i>
<i> Solutions, TMS, and</i>
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<i> Tactical Solutions Group, TSG.</i>
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<i> They had an office</i>
<i> nearby in Beckley.</i>
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ASHLEY ACORD:
Michael Cochran was
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purported to be the one
that was actually
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looking for contracts,
and Natalie
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specifically targeted people
that she knew trusted her.
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She went to Michael's family.
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She went to her own family.
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She specifically
would go to people
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that she knew had money
to spare, like businessmen,
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lawyers, dentists.
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KERI NIXON: In fraud,
trust is a weapon.
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Trust is crucial.
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If a family member or a friend
that you trusted and
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you thought were capable, they
were a professional person
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and they were known in the
community, that would mean
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that you would trust them.
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TIM BLEDSOE: The Cochrans
gave the appearance.
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They did a tremendous
volume of firearms sales
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and provided a tremendous
amount of firearms contracts
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to the federal government.
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Natalie was offering
for these weapons,
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with sometimes 75% less than
what you would pay for retail.
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She claimed that
the investment opportunities
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into Tactical Solutions
Group were very lucrative
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and would be very lucrative
for the potential investor.
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But in reality, there
was no investment.
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It was just-- it
was a Ponzi scheme.
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FIONA HOTSTON MOORE: My name
is Fiona Hotston Moore,
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and I'm a forensic accountant
and expert witness.
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Ponzi schemes are
named after one
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of the very early cases
of a large case, which
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was perpetrated by Mr. Ponzi.
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Typically, the way
that it works
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is that the fraudster will
approach friends and family.
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They will take small
amounts of investment,
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they will promise
high returns, and
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they will make high returns
to those initial investors.
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But those returns are actually
coming from other investors.
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It is artificial.
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There is no business.
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It grows very quickly and then
tends to collapse very quickly,
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with typically no money being
available to repay the victims.
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NARRATOR:<i> As the scheme</i>
<i> grew, Natalie persuaded</i>
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<i> more investors to buy in.</i>
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<i> One person in North Carolina</i>
<i> invested over $500,000.</i>
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- A later investor would
bring their money in.
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Natalie would
take a chunk of it
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and give it to an earlier
investor and say, hey, here's
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part of your return
on your investment.
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But we have this other
big contract coming up,
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and I think you should reinvest
it because it will really
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double the return that
you're going to get
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or triple or quadruple it.
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So that was one way that she
kind of kept the scheme going.
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- But over time, it's not.
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The Ponzi scheme
is not sustainable
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because the investments dry up.
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And that was exactly
what was happening here.
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NARRATOR:<i> In late 2018,</i>
<i> Michael and Natalie Cochran</i>
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<i> had gotten investments</i>
<i> of almost $2.5 million</i>
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<i> for contracts</i>
<i> to the US government.</i>
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ASHLEY ACORD: When that
money from the investments
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from friends and family
was in Natalie's pocket,
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she and Michael were
really living large.
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They were buying
new properties.
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They bought a boat, they
bought a motorcycle,
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they bought new cars.
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They went on lavish vacations.
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MICAH LEITH: They were
making extravagant purchases,
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going on trips, bringing
friends and family with them
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and paying for all of it.
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Living a lifestyle that was
pretty far into a lot of people
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that are in this
town, it certainly
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seemed that their business
was thriving.
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There was no indication
that there was anything
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bad under the surface.
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It just seemed like they
had built a business that
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was performing extremely well.
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- My name is Dr. Keri
Nixon, and I'm a consultant
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forensic psychologist.
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Their spending habits, their
presentation, their standing
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in the community,
all of these things
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are part of the same
motivator to generate trust,
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generate confidence.
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ASHLEY ACORD: Natalie was
spending a lot of the money
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from investors
on personal items.
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She would buy luxury handbags.
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She bought a pair
of bulldog puppies.
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She was really just willing
to show off all of the money
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that she had
suddenly come into.
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TIM BLEDSOE: The Cochrans made
some very large purchases,
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you know, but also in that
demonstrates a lot about who
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Michael Cochran was as well.
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He not only spent money
for himself or for his family,
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but he spent money for others.
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He did acts of philanthropy
for the local school,
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for the local youth sports.
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There was a local widow,
her husband had passed.
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He purchased her a home.
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NARRATOR:<i> Natalie was spending</i>
<i> enormous amounts of money</i>
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<i> on personal</i>
<i> and luxury purchases.</i>
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<i> On loan applications,</i>
<i> they inflated</i>
00:11:15
<i> the value</i>
<i> of their business as having</i>
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<i> assets of over $500 million.</i>
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ASHLEY ACORD: Some
of the people that Natalie
00:11:25
got to invest were able to come
up with a couple thousand
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dollars to put
into the company,
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but there were some who were
very wealthy individuals
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in high-paying jobs or maybe
had family money or something,
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and those people would
invest hundreds of thousands
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of dollars.
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Over time, convincing
those same people
00:11:46
to reinvest in the company.
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She was able to come
up with at least
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a good couple million dollars.
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FIONA HOTSTON MOORE: I think
the Cochran Ponzi scheme
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started with
the intention to fraud.
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There appeared to be no
evidence that it ever
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was a proper trading
business that it
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had any contracts
with the governments
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that it said it
was going to do.
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TIM BLEDSOE: I think there were
approximately 12 known victim
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investors of the Ponzi scheme,
with the exception of maybe one
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investor who made
a one lump sum
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of about $500,000 at one time.
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Most of the investors came
in in smaller increments.
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FIONA HOTSTON MOORE:
Red flags that
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might indicate a Ponzi scheme
is the very rapid growth
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of a business, the lack
of financial reports,
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the lack of evidence
that there is actually
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external customers,
and perhaps the observation
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that those that are running
the business actually
00:12:44
appear to be making quite
a lot of money themselves.
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TIM BLEDSOE: It was
becoming unsustainable
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because the money
was running out
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and there were no new
investors coming in.
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So I think at some point, it
was going to come to a head.
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NARRATOR:<i> By early</i>
<i> 2019, investors</i>
00:13:07
<i> were becoming anxious</i>
<i> about receiving</i>
00:13:09
<i> returns on their investment.</i>
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TIM BLEDSOE: Natalie gave
a number of different excuses.
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A fictitious government
audit was one.
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At one point, the US government
had a legitimate government
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shutdown, you know.
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So that provided her some time
that when she just got lucky.
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Some of the excuses
were the government
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not being able
to pay on time or not
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being able to complete
a wire transfer or something,
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there was a problem
at the bank.
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There was always some
kind of an excuse.
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TOM TRUMAN: One
of Natalie's many excuses
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for not making
payments was she's
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been diagnosed with cancer.
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Well, then she
claimed she had been
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sick all night,
spiked temperature,
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and she needed to be taking
insulin to counteract
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her chemotherapy.
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There is a connection
between some chemotherapy
00:14:07
and taking insulin, so that
was a plausible explanation.
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NARRATOR:<i> In early</i>
<i> 2019, Natalie,</i>
00:14:15
<i> a qualified pharmacist,</i>
<i> asked her neighbor</i>
00:14:18
<i> Jennifer if she</i>
<i> could borrow some</i>
00:14:20
<i> of her supply of the medicine.</i>
00:14:22
TOM TRUMAN: Natalie
tells Jennifer
00:14:24
that she was so sick
from her chemo
00:14:27
and needed to take
insulin, but if she
00:14:30
could just borrow a bottle,
she would pay it back later.
00:14:33
So Jennifer, being the good
neighbor and loyal friend
00:14:36
that she is, sends her
husband to the Cochran house
00:14:41
with a bottle of insulin and--
and some other things in a bag.
00:14:46
NARRATOR:<i> Other people</i>
<i> in the community</i>
00:14:48
<i> also rallied</i>
<i> to support Natalie.</i>
00:14:51
ASHLEY ACORD: Natalie
was the treasurer
00:14:53
of a local Little League,
and when she was telling people
00:14:59
that she had cancer,
a friend of theirs
00:15:02
stepped in and was helping
with those accounts.
00:15:07
And as he's looking
at those accounts,
00:15:09
he sees there's thousands
of dollars missing.
00:15:15
And there are also purchases on
there for clothing boutiques,
00:15:21
for fancy dinners,
for things that are not
00:15:23
related to Little League,
that are not purchases
00:15:25
the League should be making.
00:15:27
MICAH LEITH: A lot
of money went missing
00:15:28
from the Little League.
00:15:29
When they went and looked
at the account,
00:15:31
they had hardly
any money in there
00:15:33
and there was supposed to be
several thousands of dollars
00:15:35
and all kinds
of transactions made likely
00:15:38
by Natalie Cochran
for dinners and shopping trips
00:15:42
and all kinds of things.
00:15:49
NARRATOR:<i> In early</i>
<i> February, Michael</i>
00:15:51
<i> became concerned about</i>
<i> investors' feedback</i>
00:15:53
<i> on the business,</i>
<i> so he and Natalie</i>
00:15:56
<i> arranged a meeting</i>
<i> at their bank,</i>
00:15:58
<i> hoping to resolve</i>
<i> the payment delays.</i>
00:16:01
MICAH LEITH: The Cochrans
were supposed
00:16:02
to fly to Virginia to meet with
a representative of the bank,
00:16:06
to discuss an issue they were
having with their account
00:16:08
that was supposed
to be getting the money
00:16:09
from the federal government.
00:16:11
TIM BLEDSOE: Natalie took the
kids to school that morning.
00:16:14
Michael had also been out
and about that morning.
00:16:17
He had gone to get
coffee and returned home.
00:16:23
MICAH LEITH: The morning
they were supposed to fly,
00:16:26
Natalie canceled the flight.
00:16:28
Michael was very upset because
they were not able to go
00:16:31
to the Bank of America.
00:16:33
She had had
to cancel the flight,
00:16:35
and that he was so upset
that she had given him
00:16:40
two of her blood pressure
pills, and he had taken those
00:16:43
and had been
sleeping ever since.
00:16:46
ASHLEY ACORD: Around
12:30 in the afternoon,
00:16:49
Natalie sends a text message
to a pair of contractors that
00:16:53
worked for her and Michael, and
she tells them that Michael is
00:16:58
unconscious in the floor
of their kitchen,
00:17:01
and she needs them to help
her get him to the couch.
00:17:06
Around that same time,
she has taken a photograph
00:17:10
of Michael laying
in the fetal position
00:17:13
in the floor of their kitchen.
00:17:16
TIM BLEDSOE: Natalie also
texted a another friend
00:17:19
of the family, who was
also in law enforcement,
00:17:22
and asked him
to come to the house
00:17:24
as well to help with Michael.
00:17:26
They moved Michael
to the couch in the home,
00:17:30
and these contractors
described seeing
00:17:33
Natalie checking
Michael's vital signs
00:17:37
and to include
his blood glucose.
00:17:41
NARRATOR:<i> Later that</i>
<i> day, Michael was</i>
00:17:43
<i> transported to the hospital.</i>
00:17:46
TIM BLEDSOE: When Michael
arrived at the hospital
00:17:48
initially, they found that
his blood glucose level was
00:17:51
critically low
and there was no way
00:17:53
to know how long
it had been that
00:17:55
low, other than to see that
he was in a great distress.
00:18:03
The decision was made
to immediately intubate him.
00:18:08
He was deteriorating rapidly,
and the facility he was at
00:18:15
did not have
the trauma capabilities
00:18:17
necessary to-- to treat him
to the level that he needed.
00:18:21
And the decision was
made to transfer him
00:18:24
to Charleston Area
Medical Center.
00:18:26
NARRATOR:<i> Natalie</i>
<i> reported to medical staff</i>
00:18:28
<i> that Michael had taken</i>
<i> 25 times his usual amount</i>
00:18:32
<i> of a bodybuilding supplement</i>
<i> purchased from Mexico.</i>
00:18:35
TIM BLEDSOE: She told
them that he had overdosed
00:18:38
on this Mexican supplement.
00:18:40
Michael was treated
for a few days there,
00:18:42
and Natalie made the decision
to have care removed,
00:18:47
and he passed within just
a few hours of his arrival.
00:18:52
TOM TRUMAN: The death of
Michael Cochran made no sense.
00:18:55
He was a perfectly healthy
38-year-old fit man,
00:18:59
and then all of a sudden, he
was unconscious and days later,
00:19:03
he was dead.
00:19:09
NARRATOR:<i> On February</i>
<i> 11, 2019, Michael Cochran</i>
00:19:13
<i> was pronounced dead.</i>
00:19:16
<i> News of his death spread</i>
<i> quickly through the community.</i>
00:19:21
ASHLEY ACORD: Michael
died in hospice after he
00:19:24
fell unconscious at home.
00:19:26
This to everyone was
very jarring, I think,
00:19:31
and very shocking
because Michael was a very
00:19:35
healthy 38-year-old man.
00:19:39
TOM TRUMAN: The death of
Michael Cochran made no sense.
00:19:42
That made no sense
to a lot of people,
00:19:44
including the investigators
that-- that took this case.
00:19:50
ASHLEY ACORD: I think
following Michael's death,
00:19:52
people started to get a little
suspicious about the
00:19:55
Ponzi scheme.
00:19:56
I know that there was one
particular investor who was
00:20:00
owed several thousand dollars.
00:20:03
He had told Natalie,
you get me my money
00:20:06
or I'm going to the police.
00:20:08
And he did.
00:20:10
NARRATOR:<i> It was at this</i>
<i> point the state police began</i>
00:20:13
<i> to look into the Cochrans'</i>
<i> business,</i>
00:20:15
<i> suspecting some sort of fraud.</i>
00:20:19
TIM BLEDSOE: We
were made aware of
00:20:20
the potential financial crime.
00:20:23
A gentleman who was a business
owner in the Beckley area
00:20:27
had approached one
of our state troopers
00:20:30
who he was acquainted
with, and informed him
00:20:35
that he had invested money
into Natalie's company,
00:20:38
and he had been unable
to get any satisfaction
00:20:43
on his investment.
00:20:45
And as time had
moved forward, she
00:20:47
had become increasingly
disengaged with him,
00:20:50
trying to provide
different excuses as
00:20:52
to why she was unable
to fulfill the agreement they
00:20:56
had reached.
00:20:59
FIONA HOTSTON MOORE: You can
hide a Ponzi scheme, I
00:21:01
think, short-term.
00:21:03
So you can be giving verbal
reports back to your family and
00:21:08
the investors.
00:21:09
I think it becomes more
and more difficult the longer
00:21:11
things go on,
because as time goes on,
00:21:13
people will be expecting
to see financial accounts.
00:21:16
They will be expecting
to see audit reports,
00:21:19
and so on, and those
will not exist.
00:21:24
TIM BLEDSOE: I saw the text
messages between them.
00:21:26
You know, originally, she
was very sweet and very kind
00:21:28
with this gentleman.
00:21:29
And as he pressed
her more to try
00:21:31
to get some satisfaction
over this deal,
00:21:34
she became increasingly
belligerent in her texts.
00:21:38
In that conversation, he had
also informed the trooper
00:21:41
that Michael Cochran
had-- had recently died,
00:21:45
and that the circumstances
surrounding his death
00:21:48
were somewhat suspicious.
00:21:51
There was no investigation
into his death.
00:21:53
There was no autopsy.
00:21:54
At that point, we
decided pretty early
00:21:57
on that we wanted to just
offer Natalie an opportunity
00:22:01
to speak with us.
00:22:02
I contacted her by phone.
00:22:06
We had no reason,
really, to believe
00:22:08
that Natalie had done
anything intentional
00:22:11
to Michael to cause
his death, but
00:22:13
it certainly needed to be
answered one way or the other.
00:22:17
Her position was
that Michael had
00:22:19
taken an overdose
of a bodybuilding supplement
00:22:22
that he was using as part
of his bodybuilding workout.
00:22:27
Natalie told us
that she had given
00:22:28
this Mexican supplement
to the doctors
00:22:31
at Charleston Area
Medical Center.
00:22:33
But when we investigated
that, that was not true.
00:22:36
- She said that the clomiphene
citrate was a supplement
00:22:39
that Michael
ordered from Mexico,
00:22:41
when, in fact, her
email showed that she
00:22:44
was the one ordering it
and that it came from Florida.
00:22:46
- The second interview
I had with her,
00:22:49
she goes full in on Michael
was using insulin, injecting
00:22:53
himself with insulin.
00:22:55
When she introduced insulin
into the conversation,
00:22:59
that was the turning point
right there in the death
00:23:04
investigation, for sure.
00:23:05
ASHLEY ACORD: There was
no evidence that Michael
00:23:07
had ever injected insulin.
00:23:09
In fact, we knew Michael
was afraid of needles.
00:23:13
NARRATOR:<i> Insulin</i>
<i> is used by diabetics</i>
00:23:15
<i> to regulate blood</i>
<i> sugar, but if used</i>
00:23:17
<i> by someone who</i>
<i> doesn't have diabetes,</i>
00:23:20
<i> it can be very dangerous.</i>
00:23:22
- I think it's
fascinating that Natalie,
00:23:26
who was a pharmacist by trade
in the police interviews,
00:23:30
almost points
the finger on herself
00:23:32
inadvertently by bringing
up the factor of insulin.
00:23:38
She's thinking she's being
clever when actually,
00:23:42
by giving too much
information, she led the police
00:23:46
directly back to her.
00:23:48
TIM BLEDSOE: After
a month, I think
00:23:50
after the initial
interview was when--
00:23:53
when I really knew in my gut
that this was a murder
00:23:56
because she had called
to complain to our state police
00:24:01
headquarters about what she
described as an investigation
00:24:06
of her and wanting it stopped.
00:24:10
No spouse is going
to ask an investigation
00:24:14
into another human being's
death be stopped unless you
00:24:17
have something to hide.
00:24:20
That's the way we presented
it to her was like, look, man,
00:24:23
we're just trying to find
out why your husband's dead.
00:24:26
We're not investigating you.
00:24:27
I don't know.
00:24:28
And that's what we told her.
00:24:29
So we don't know why
you're describing this
00:24:31
as an investigation of you.
00:24:32
We're not investigating you.
00:24:34
In reality, we were
investigating the Ponzi scheme.
00:24:36
We just didn't want
her to know that.
00:24:46
NARRATOR:<i> West</i>
<i> Virginia State Police</i>
00:24:47
<i> had been investigating Natalie</i>
<i> and Michael Cochran's business,</i>
00:24:50
<i> looking for proof of fraud.</i>
00:24:53
<i> Now, they suspected she may</i>
<i> have also killed her husband.</i>
00:24:59
TIM BLEDSOE: Late March
2019 and June of 2019,
00:25:02
we were accumulating a massive
amount of financial records,
00:25:05
bank statements,
bank transactions,
00:25:08
anything that we could get
to further the Ponzi scheme
00:25:12
investigation, to hopefully
arrive at enough probable cause
00:25:16
to obtain a search warrant.
00:25:18
[tense music]
00:25:36
TOM TRUMAN: Investigators had
developed a case sufficient
00:25:39
where they got a search
warrant and they searched
00:25:42
the Cochran home that day.
00:25:44
TIM BLEDSOE: We were able
to seize her cell phone,
00:25:47
and then through that
search warrant obtaining,
00:25:52
obviously, digital
evidence from her phone,
00:25:55
we were able to pull out
just the text messages
00:25:59
between Michael and Natalie.
00:26:01
And there were thousands
of pages that was extremely
00:26:06
revealing, to say the least.
00:26:10
- If I was looking
to give evidence
00:26:11
as to whether Michael knew
that Natalie's business or
00:26:15
their business
was legitimate, I
00:26:17
would be looking
at the communications
00:26:19
that Michael was
involved in to see
00:26:21
whether he actually was
looking at the bank statements.
00:26:25
Was he seeing
the flow of funds?
00:26:27
Is their email suggesting
that he actually
00:26:29
knew what was going on,
or was his involvement
00:26:32
fairly peripheral?
00:26:35
TIM BLEDSOE: It presented
the dynamic of the relationship
00:26:38
pretty fast, especially when it
related to how the TSG business
00:26:42
was being operated.
00:26:44
Michael was, I guess, more
of the-- the mouthpiece.
00:26:48
He believed that when he
sent her these contracts
00:26:52
that she was doing exactly what
he said, and then she was not.
00:26:56
You could see just from
the financial documents
00:26:59
that we were
reviewing early on,
00:27:02
that the problems with
the Little League account
00:27:04
were just a drop
in the bucket compared
00:27:06
to what was really going on
with-- with this TSG company.
00:27:11
ASHLEY ACORD: She had
these doctored headings
00:27:16
for financial institutions,
banks, lending
00:27:20
agencies, things like that.
00:27:22
She made up Federal Reserve
employees and email addresses,
00:27:28
and would give those fake
email addresses to Michael
00:27:30
so that he thought
he was communicating
00:27:32
with someone, only for his
emails to bounce back
00:27:35
because they weren't real.
00:27:38
TOM TRUMAN: They seized
a number of electronic devices,
00:27:41
and they also found
a bottle of insulin,
00:27:44
which was consistent with
a bottle of insulin that
00:27:47
had been loaned to Natalie
by a neighbor whose
00:27:51
son had diabetes.
00:27:54
ASHLEY ACORD: That was
significant for a couple
00:27:56
of reasons.
00:27:57
One, because at that
point, we did not
00:27:59
know what had killed Michael.
00:28:02
Two, no one in the house
was diabetic
00:28:04
or had any need for insulin.
00:28:07
And three, the day that Michael
fell unconscious February 6,
00:28:15
Natalie had specifically
requested a bottle of insulin
00:28:19
be brought to her.
00:28:21
TIM BLEDSOE:
The bottle of insulin
00:28:22
was concealed inside the
refrigerator in the kitchen,
00:28:26
behind some other items on one
of the shelves inside the door.
00:28:31
NARRATOR:<i> Natalie had claimed</i>
<i> Michael was using insulin</i>
00:28:33
<i> for bodybuilding,</i>
<i> but the police couldn't</i>
00:28:37
<i> prove a link to his death.</i>
00:28:40
- In September
of 2019, an exhumation
00:28:43
was conducted so that
autopsy could be performed
00:28:48
on Michael Cochran's remains.
00:28:52
NARRATOR:<i> The autopsy</i>
<i> results were inconclusive.</i>
00:28:55
<i> Unaware she was suspected</i>
<i> of murdering Michael,</i>
00:28:58
<i> Natalie continued</i>
<i> running the business.</i>
00:29:02
ASHLEY ACORD: She's
continuing to solicit
00:29:03
money from investors.
00:29:05
And at one point, she actually
tries to sell the company
00:29:09
to a local businessman.
00:29:13
She enters
into a contract with him.
00:29:14
He puts a down payment
on the contract,
00:29:17
and luckily, that's
about the time
00:29:21
that the police stepped in.
00:29:22
NARRATOR:<i> On July 24,</i>
<i> 2019, Natalie Cochran</i>
00:29:27
<i> filed for bankruptcy.</i>
00:29:29
<i> Two weeks later, she</i>
<i> talked with the media,</i>
00:29:31
<i> stating the money</i>
<i> laundering and spending were</i>
00:29:34
<i> primarily done by Michael.</i>
00:29:36
ASHLEY ACORD: She
repeatedly claimed
00:29:37
that Michael knew
about the Ponzi scheme
00:29:40
because he would sign checks.
00:29:43
She repeatedly said that he
was up to his eyeballs in this.
00:29:48
NARRATOR:
<i> On September 24, 2019,</i>
00:29:51
<i> Natalie was indicted</i>
<i> by a federal grand jury</i>
00:29:56
<i> for the $2.5 million fraud</i>
<i> related to the Ponzi scheme.</i>
00:30:00
MICAH LEITH: She was
arrested on the federal wire
00:30:03
fraud money laundering charges,
and she ultimately pled guilty.
00:30:06
It didn't ever go to trial.
00:30:08
They reached an agreement
and she was sentenced to,
00:30:10
I believe, 11 years
in federal prison.
00:30:13
NARRATOR:<i> No charges were</i>
<i> brought against Natalie Cochran</i>
00:30:16
<i> for the Little League theft.</i>
00:30:18
<i> But now, police</i>
<i> and public prosecutors</i>
00:30:21
<i> were building</i>
<i> a case against her</i>
00:30:23
<i> for the murder of her</i>
<i> husband, Michael.</i>
00:30:26
TOM TRUMAN: The Natalie
Cochran case
00:30:27
arose out of the federal
prosecution of a Ponzi scheme.
00:30:31
Our theory of the case was
that she killed her husband
00:30:35
because she was about
to be uncovered,
00:30:38
and she couldn't
have that happen.
00:30:40
In our very first
meeting, Ashley and
00:30:43
me and the Ponzi
scheme investigator,
00:30:46
he said something that really
turned out to be prophetic.
00:30:49
He said the one thing
you can always count on
00:30:52
with people that
run a Ponzi scheme,
00:30:54
they will do anything to keep
the Ponzi scheme going.
00:30:58
That didn't really
sink in at the time,
00:31:00
but boy, later on, that proved
to be absolutely spot on.
00:31:10
NARRATOR:<i> In January</i>
<i> 2024, Natalie Cochran,</i>
00:31:14
<i> already imprisoned</i>
<i> for the $2.5 million fraud,</i>
00:31:18
<i> pled not guilty for the murder</i>
<i> of her husband, Michael.</i>
00:31:23
TOM TRUMAN: I think
a murder case that
00:31:25
is 100% circumstantial
is going to be
00:31:28
a little bit tougher
case, because you don't
00:31:30
have anything to point to.
00:31:32
You don't have
the fingerprints.
00:31:34
You don't have the DNA.
00:31:35
You don't have the video.
00:31:37
You don't have the confession.
00:31:38
None of those things that would
go with many murder cases.
00:31:45
I think that that made
the case more of a challenge.
00:31:52
ASHLEY ACORD: We tapered our
witness list down from around
00:31:55
80 witnesses to about 17.
00:31:58
We also really treated this
like a circumstantial case
00:32:03
that it is.
00:32:05
We knew that we weren't
working with eyewitnesses or
00:32:07
DNA evidence
or anything like that.
00:32:09
So we really had
to build a story,
00:32:11
and that's how we
tried the case.
00:32:15
NARRATOR:<i> The prosecution</i>
<i> claimed that Natalie's motive</i>
00:32:17
<i> to murder her husband was</i>
<i> to stop the Ponzi scheme</i>
00:32:20
<i> being uncovered.</i>
00:32:22
ASHLEY ACORD: The role
of Ponzi scheme in the murder
00:32:25
was to prove that Natalie
had a motive to kill Michael.
00:32:31
And the reason that
that's important
00:32:33
is because according to all
the evidence that we have,
00:32:37
Michael had no idea that TSG
was not a legitimate company.
00:32:42
If he were to find out
that that was happening,
00:32:44
the Ponzi scheme would be over.
00:32:46
And Natalie couldn't
let that happen.
00:32:50
NARRATOR:<i> Natalie's</i>
<i> defense was that Michael</i>
00:32:52
<i> knew about the Ponzi</i>
<i> scheme, so why would</i>
00:32:55
<i> she kill him to hide it?</i>
00:32:58
- They repeatedly
claimed that Michael
00:33:02
knew about the Ponzi scheme
because he would sign checks,
00:33:07
which doesn't indicate
to me in any way
00:33:11
that he was aware
of fraud going on.
00:33:14
He was trying to pay
out investors.
00:33:16
TOM TRUMAN: Michael Cochran
was not involved in the fraud,
00:33:19
and I based that primarily
on about 1,900 pages of text
00:33:25
messages between Michael
and Natalie, where he clearly
00:33:29
had no idea what was going on.
00:33:31
And when you compare those
1,900 pages of communications
00:33:36
between the two Cochrans
with what Natalie was
00:33:40
telling the other
investors in the company,
00:33:43
the lies were identical.
00:33:45
And so there is zero
evidence to show
00:33:49
that Michael
Cochran was involved
00:33:51
in any fraudulent activity.
00:33:53
NARRATOR:<i> In February</i>
<i> 2019, everything</i>
00:33:56
<i> changed when Michael</i>
<i> challenged Natalie</i>
00:33:59
<i> about the delays in payments</i>
<i> from the government contracts.</i>
00:34:02
TOM TRUMAN: Michael
Cochran, who
00:34:04
was fed up with all
the delays Natalie
00:34:07
was telling Michael were caused
by banks, by government issues.
00:34:13
He was saying, I'm not
putting up with this anymore.
00:34:16
So they chartered
a flight to fly down and
00:34:18
talk to Bank of America to see
why this money that he believed
00:34:24
was in the really hundreds
of millions of dollars
00:34:28
was not being paid
out to the investors.
00:34:30
- We have a situation
here where
00:34:32
a husband is being controlled.
00:34:34
He's being lied to.
00:34:36
He's being manipulated.
00:34:38
She is involving him
in criminal activity
00:34:41
without his knowledge.
00:34:44
That is abusive behavior.
00:34:48
NARRATOR:<i> It was on the day</i>
<i> of the flight, February 6,</i>
00:34:51
<i> that Michael fell ill.</i>
00:34:54
ASHLEY ACORD: The morning
of February 6,
00:34:57
Natalie reports that she
believes she has the flu.
00:35:01
She's texting a couple
of different people about that.
00:35:06
She actually goes
to the doctor that morning
00:35:10
and gets a steroid
prescription.
00:35:14
She texts Michael
and says that she is
00:35:16
getting meds for both of them.
00:35:20
Michael was out that morning
getting coffee for Natalie
00:35:23
because she wasn't feeling
well and was returning home.
00:35:27
But it was odd because Natalie
texted the pilot and said,
00:35:33
I can't go.
00:35:34
I'm not feeling well.
00:35:36
And Michael said, well,
don't worry about it.
00:35:38
We'll still go.
00:35:39
This needs to happen.
00:35:40
And then ultimately
the flight is canceled.
00:35:45
And then, of course, we know
from that point on Michael's
00:35:50
not able to make
the flight again.
00:35:53
TOM TRUMAN: When Michael
collapsed on the floor,
00:35:56
instead of calling 911, Natalie
takes his picture of him
00:36:01
on the floor and sends
it to roughly 17 people.
00:36:05
She then proceeds to--
00:36:07
to summons people
at different times
00:36:10
during the day that would
provide a great cover story.
00:36:14
She brought in a physician's
assistant who
00:36:18
has clear medical knowledge.
00:36:20
And that person also
suggested we need
00:36:24
to take him to the hospital.
00:36:26
He needs to go now.
00:36:28
Natalie said, no,
I'm going to--
00:36:29
I'm going to let
him sleep it off.
00:36:31
Well, there was
nothing to sleep off.
00:36:33
He was clearly
incapacitated and he never
00:36:38
recovered from that at all.
00:36:46
NARRATOR:<i> On January</i>
<i> 15, 2025, almost</i>
00:36:49
<i> six years after</i>
<i> Michael's death,</i>
00:36:52
<i> Natalie Cochran</i>
<i> faced murder charges.</i>
00:36:55
<i> The prosecution needed to prove</i>
<i> it was an insulin overdose</i>
00:36:59
<i> that had killed Michael.</i>
00:37:02
ASHLEY ACORD: Michael was
exhumed for a second time
00:37:06
by court order in 2023
by a doctor from Texas,
00:37:12
and he had actually worked on
a set of insulin murder cases
00:37:20
that had taken place in West
Virginia several years ago.
00:37:23
So he had Michael's
medical records.
00:37:25
He was able to create
a timetable that
00:37:30
showed all of Michael's
blood glucose levels
00:37:35
throughout his stay
in the hospital.
00:37:38
He was able to determine that
Michael was suffering from what
00:37:44
he called refractory
hypoglycemia, which
00:37:47
meant he had low blood sugar.
00:37:50
He would receive
treatment for it
00:37:52
and then it would
drop back down.
00:37:54
It wouldn't stabilize
as you would expect
00:37:56
it to in a healthy person.
00:38:00
The reason that
was significant was
00:38:02
because that indicated that
Michael had been given insulin,
00:38:08
and that's how we knew that
we had our murder weapon.
00:38:13
At that point, he
ruled the death
00:38:15
a homicide via exogenous
insulin administration.
00:38:21
We use Michael and Natalie's
best friends and neighbors.
00:38:27
There were some very
key pieces of testimony,
00:38:30
I think, between
the two of them.
00:38:31
Chris was very emotional
and very raw on the stand
00:38:36
and very upfront about how he
felt about the whole thing.
00:38:42
He was actually the one
who made the decision
00:38:46
to get Michael to the hospital
and get him medical treatment.
00:38:49
Natalie had refused to get
Michael treatment all day,
00:38:53
and Chris came in and he
testified on the stand
00:38:57
that the words he said were,
he is going to the hospital
00:39:01
and I am going to take him.
00:39:05
His wife, Jennifer, she
was actually the one
00:39:07
that Natalie had
tricked into bringing
00:39:11
the insulin over to the home,
which is ultimately
00:39:14
what killed Michael.
00:39:16
And I know that was
very hard for Jennifer
00:39:17
because that was
never her intention.
00:39:19
She-- she never
would have wanted
00:39:21
something like that to happen.
00:39:22
KERI NIXON: Something that
I've seen in many murder cases
00:39:25
is when people have
inadvertently either
00:39:28
not stopped something
happening or provided something
00:39:32
or in some way been
involved without--
00:39:35
with no knowledge of what
was about to happen,
00:39:38
the guilt that they
experience is huge.
00:39:43
ASHLEY ACORD: Jennifer had
another very powerful piece
00:39:45
of testimony, I think, because
she was actually with Natalie
00:39:50
when Michael was in hospice
for those couple of hours
00:39:52
before he passed away.
00:39:54
And I remember one
of the last things Jennifer
00:39:56
said on the stand was
that she asked Natalie
00:40:00
if there was anything that she
could do for her while Michael
00:40:05
was laying on his deathbed.
00:40:07
And she says, help me hold
this pillow over his face.
00:40:13
And I think the whole courtroom
was just kind of floored.
00:40:17
MICAH LEITH: Natalie
Cochran was extremely
00:40:19
difficult to get a read
on, and her demeanor
00:40:23
is really interesting to me
because she never really showed
00:40:26
a lot of negative emotion.
00:40:28
And certain members
of the community
00:40:29
maybe held that against her.
00:40:31
And for me, because I
saw every-- everything
00:40:34
that happened basically in the
courtroom during that trial.
00:40:36
And a lot of it
seemed to me she
00:40:39
was really happy to see
her kids, because remember,
00:40:41
she's been serving a federal
prison sentence all this time,
00:40:44
like she-- she
has not been free.
00:40:47
This was her first
chance to see
00:40:48
her family every single
day in person, all day,
00:40:51
in a very long time.
00:40:54
ASHLEY ACORD: In court,
Natalie took an approach
00:40:57
that a lot of women who are on
trial for murder tend to take,
00:41:02
and that she
adopted a much more
00:41:04
conservative look than she had
before she was incarcerated.
00:41:09
So she cut all her hair off.
00:41:12
She wore glasses every day.
00:41:14
She did not wear bright colors.
00:41:16
She really toned herself
down quite a lot.
00:41:20
- It doesn't surprise
me at all that Natalie
00:41:23
significantly changed
her appearance for court.
00:41:27
Often people going
into court will
00:41:30
make themselves look
more vulnerable,
00:41:32
not as rich, hoping to gain
sympathy from the jury.
00:41:38
ASHLEY ACORD: As far
as her behavior,
00:41:41
she constantly had
a smirk on her face.
00:41:45
She was very smug, did not seem
to believe that anyone would
00:41:50
ever convict her of murder.
00:41:54
MICAH LEITH: The overall
atmosphere in the courtroom
00:41:56
was tense.
00:41:57
Michael's family was
there on one side
00:41:59
and her family was
there on the other.
00:42:00
Her family continued
to stand by her.
00:42:02
They don't feel she did
anything wrong, even
00:42:04
though court documents show
that she stole an insane
00:42:07
amount of money
from her parents,
00:42:09
so it was a really
interesting and heartbreaking
00:42:11
dynamic in the courtroom.
00:42:13
TIM BLEDSOE: It was really
hard to sit there and
00:42:15
stomach at trial, you know,
as the defense stood there
00:42:19
time and time again trying to--
to come up with this fairy tale
00:42:23
that Michael Cochran
was somehow involved
00:42:25
in this Ponzi scheme
because that was-- that was
00:42:27
not the case whatsoever.
00:42:29
You know, Michael
Cochran was a victim.
00:42:31
There, I can't
imagine how hard it
00:42:33
was for Michael's family to sit
there and listen to that crap.
00:42:36
NARRATOR:<i> After almost</i>
<i> three weeks in court,</i>
00:42:39
<i> the jury were ready</i>
<i> to consider their verdict.</i>
00:42:42
MICAH LEITH:
The prosecution's case
00:42:43
was, I would imagine,
quite difficult to put
00:42:46
together because they
had no smoking gun.
00:42:48
They had to take
the evidence they
00:42:50
had and kind of bring
the narrative
00:42:51
together for the jury.
00:42:53
- Well, we had
a number of challenges.
00:42:55
You know, prosecutors
love to have
00:42:59
the stuff you see on TV,
DNA, fingerprints,
00:43:03
videos, confessions.
00:43:06
All of those things make for
a good life for a prosecutor.
00:43:10
We had none of them.
00:43:13
NARRATOR:<i> On January 29, 2025,</i>
<i> Natalie Cochran was found</i>
00:43:18
<i> guilty of first-degree murder.</i>
00:43:20
MICAH LEITH:
Michael's parents, who
00:43:22
have been fighting for justice
for their son for so long,
00:43:25
finally getting some
semblance of closure
00:43:28
that they know that Michael's
death wasn't for nothing
00:43:31
and that his murderer has
been held accountable.
00:43:34
It was the most heartbreaking
part of the entire proceedings
00:43:36
when her kids were up
on the stand, basically
00:43:39
begging the jury for mercy
so that they could get a chance
00:43:42
to see their mom
again in 20 years
00:43:43
and maybe rebuild
a relationship.
00:43:45
And ultimately,
the jury decided
00:43:47
that she didn't deserve mercy.
00:43:48
- As a forensic psychologist,
not many things shock me,
00:43:52
but occasionally, I
come across cases where
00:43:56
there is an element of shock.
00:43:58
And in this case, we've got
a woman who was a professional,
00:44:01
who seemed to have it all.
00:44:03
She has a lovely
husband, a family.
00:44:05
She had the ability
to make a great income
00:44:09
and live a great life,
but she wanted more.
00:44:14
NARRATOR:<i> Natalie Cochran was</i>
<i> sentenced to life in prison</i>
00:44:17
<i> without the possibility</i>
<i> of parole.</i>
00:44:19
MICAH LEITH: They know
they'll probably never get
00:44:21
to hug their daughter again.
00:44:22
Their kids.
00:44:24
They don't really have
a mother in their life
00:44:25
anymore because of this.
00:44:26
It was a very tragic outcome.
00:44:29
- On a personal level, it was
sort of the rush of a lifetime
00:44:35
to hear the judge
come back and say that
00:44:39
the jury had found
Natalie Cochran
00:44:41
guilty of first-degree murder.
00:44:43
And that's not only for me
because this is a huge trial
00:44:48
win, but really, it was more
for Michael and for his mom
00:44:54
and for his friends.
00:44:57
When the guilty verdict
was read in the court,
00:45:00
it almost seemed like
Natalie didn't believe it.
00:45:03
She shed a single tear.
00:45:05
No visceral reaction.
00:45:07
You know, like you
would maybe expect.
00:45:09
TOM TRUMAN: We have what's
called our 20/80 list.
00:45:13
And this goes back decades
ago to an FBI presentation
00:45:17
that 20% of the people
commit 80% of the crime.
00:45:21
Natalie Cochran's kind
of odd because she had
00:45:23
never been in trouble before.
00:45:25
In her case, she made
a series of bad decisions
00:45:29
and got a life sentence out of
it in a short period of time.
00:45:33
KERI NIXON: They were
childhood sweethearts.
00:45:36
According to everybody
in the community,
00:45:38
they were deeply in love.
00:45:39
They'd been together
since they were 16,
00:45:42
and she was willing
to take his life
00:45:45
in order for her Ponzi
scheme to remain ongoing.
00:45:50
ASHLEY ACORD: Natalie
and her family
00:45:51
continue to deny that
she is a murderer.
00:45:56
I understand that this
is your family member.
00:45:58
But look at what
she's done to people.
00:46:03
TIM BLEDSOE:
In my opinion, when
00:46:04
you see people who are
willing to go to those lengths
00:46:07
to protect their life,
there's only one word that
00:46:10
comes to mind-- dangerous.
00:46:12
They don't come at you with
a mask and a gun or a knife.
00:46:18
You don't see these kind
of criminals coming.
00:46:20
And that's why
they're so dangerous.
00:46:30
[theme music]