00:00:03
[tense music] THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
What's going on, man? - Cooperate?
I am going to cooperate.
00:00:13
THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: OK. So parents have some
concerns of some stuff they may have found in your room.
00:00:18
What would it be? - A human head and hands. - To come face to face
with somebody so young,
00:00:29
it's kind of scary. - The nature was
extremely brutal. BRIAN COHEE: I cut open
his belly to see his guts.
00:00:37
They're really pink. [chuckles] - Every murder is bad, but this
one was particularly horrific.
00:00:43
[dramatic music] LISSAH NORCROSS: He found this
easy to do and admits that. BRIAN COHEE: I was growling
and making animalistic noises.
00:00:51
[snarls] DR. JULIA SHAW: He
seems to be completely detached from the fact that
this was a human being.
00:01:01
KERRY DAYNES: To understand
why somebody kills, we have to understand
their life
00:01:05
story and the silent evolution
of their thought patterns. [theme music] [ominous music]
00:01:43
- I think a lot of people are
familiar with Grand Junction because they passed through
here along the interstate.
00:01:51
We're located in the high
mountains of Colorado, halfway between Denver
and Salt Lake City.
00:01:58
- It is, I would say,
a safe place to live. TRISH MAHRE: Brian, since
he was a small child,
00:02:09
had grown up in a Grand
Junction community. His family lived out
in the Redlands area,
00:02:14
which is a nice upper-middle
income area of our town. - My name is Kellen Pifer.
00:02:22
I'm a former classmate
of Brian Cohee. I grew up here
in Grand Junction. When I was about eight, we
moved up to the Redlands
00:02:30
and that's when I started
going to Broadway Elementary, which is where I met Brian.
00:02:36
Brian lived in a similar
part of the Redlands to me. All the people knew each other.
00:02:41
It was very nice living there. You always kind
of felt supported. You kind of felt like you
knew all your neighbors.
00:02:46
It always felt like you could
always reach out for help. People often brought
each other cookies,
00:02:49
treats for the holidays. So it felt very
tight, you know, knit. ROB HEIL: Brian Cohee's
family seemed normal.
00:02:58
They seemed like they had
a normal, steady jobs. TRISH MAHRE: His mom
ran a daycare out
00:03:05
of the basement of her home. His father worked
in construction. His parents were
separating, and
00:03:14
they were living in two homes
not very far from each other. He lived primarily
with his mother,
00:03:21
but he frequented
his father's home. [intriguing music] KELLEN PIFER: Brian's
mannerisms in elementary school
00:03:28
were a little bit strange. He seemed to exaggerate
his movements a little bit. He spoke very loud,
oftentimes would
00:03:36
over pronunciate his words. TRISH MAHRE: Brian Cohee's
mother was reporting that he had mild autism.
00:03:43
From the time he
was very little, she was reaching out for help,
trying to have him assessed
00:03:48
and trying to get
him the right help. KELLEN PIFER: I
would definitely say that Brian seemed
to lack social awareness.
00:03:55
Oftentimes, it felt like
he didn't necessarily know where bounds
were supposed to be,
00:04:00
or maybe he felt like
pushing on those bounds was the best way
to get attention.
00:04:09
TRISH MAHRE: By middle
school and high school, the schools were interacting
with the Cohee family
00:04:14
about things that
they were discovering that were disturbing. Brian Cohee, he was fixated
on infamous people who hurt
00:04:22
people such as Hitler, Stalin. He was obsessed
with crime scenes. He was obsessed with murder.
00:04:33
He was obsessed
with serial killers. ROB HEIL: It was apparent
in talking to Brian's teachers
00:04:40
that there was a disturbing
behavior, disturbing thoughts. POLICE OFFICER 1
(ON RECORDING):
00:04:46
What do you remember
about Brian? BRIAN'S TEACHER 1 (ON
RECORDING): Not much.
00:04:49
Just I remember there
was like a notebook that had some obviously
concerning stuff
00:04:54
talking about, like, serial
killer statistics and stuff. Like, he seemed to be kind
of enamored with that.
00:05:00
POLICE OFFICER 1
(ON RECORDING): So famous serial killers? Some information about--
00:05:03
BRIAN'S TEACHER
1 (ON RECORDING): Yeah, like kill counts
and just stuff like that.
00:05:06
Like, that's not entirely
normal, you know? - I'm Kerry Daynes,
I'm a consultant
00:05:18
forensic psychologist. Cohee is reading
about serial killers. He's researching serial
killers on the net.
00:05:28
And he's doing all of this
not through a lens of empathy. He's doing it through a lens
of intellectual curiosity.
00:05:38
And he's not empathizing
with the victims. He is identifying
with the killer.
00:05:46
It's the killer
and the killer's mindset and the killer's
behavior that resonates with him.
00:05:53
TRISH MAHRE: People came
to know him as somebody with dark, dark humor. BRIAN'S TEACHER
2 (ON RECORDING):
00:06:00
He'd make comments
about the Holocaust, you know, wildly
inappropriate all the time.
00:06:04
He always looked for shock. He fed on that
negative attention. I felt like he was bottling up
a lot of, uh, dissatisfaction
00:06:16
because, like, he
was really smart kid, very academically brilliant. But he was, like--
00:06:22
he was a little bit
of a social outcast. KERRY DAYNES: He is really
emotionally immature.
00:06:29
But also, you've got
to understand that he does not understand the social world.
00:06:35
He doesn't understand the
nuances of social interactions. He doesn't really understand
the reciprocal nature
00:06:43
of friendships. And he wants people
to take note of him. But the only way that
he's found that really he
00:06:50
can achieve any sort of
attention is by being shocking, and in being shocking, all
it really reinforces to him
00:07:01
is his difference
from other people. [suspenseful music] ROB HEIL: Brian had made
a series of posts on Reddit
00:07:13
that provided a lot of insight
into his thinking and his motives. - The fact that Cohee is
going on the internet,
00:07:50
and he's becoming more and more
extreme in what he is posting, shows that he is struggling
himself in trying to understand
00:07:59
this and he wants to test. Are there other people
out there that feel the same kind of things to me?
00:08:04
But of course, the response
is overwhelmingly negative. So that can only feed into this
cycle of feeling low, feeling
00:08:12
different, feeling other,
and also feeling resentful of the world around you. [tense music]
00:08:21
KELLEN PIFER: It did seem like
whenever a situation happened, maybe he didn't
fully understand.
00:08:27
Like, if he had done
something wrong, sometimes it felt
like, it was more funny than it was concerning to him.
00:08:33
BRIAN COHEE (VOICEOVER):
"I was bored in school, so I made a mace out
of tape and a pencil."
00:08:54
[intriguing music] - I'm Dr. Julia Shaw,
a criminal psychologist and author.
00:09:00
What I think is
most fascinating about the Brian
Cohee case is that he seems to have what are called
callous, unemotional traits.
00:09:07
CU traits or callous
and emotional traits are when you don't feel the
same feelings as other people
00:09:13
and you don't have the same
empathy in the brain. Callous, unemotional
traits are related
00:09:18
to a part of the brain called
the anterior temporal lobe. And what you see with people
who are high in callous,
00:09:26
unemotional traits
is this area that is responsible
for suppressing callous thoughts is literally smaller.
00:09:33
Being high in these
traits makes you more likely
to hurt other people, and it takes away
a barrier that most of us
00:09:39
would have to doing
things like murder. [ominous music] KELLEN PIFER: It's
really hard to know
00:09:46
when someone's actually going
to take something too far. You know, when something goes
from being a joke that you say
00:09:51
to get attention
or to be funny, to where that actually gets
turned into something, maybe
00:09:56
a lot more deeper,
a lot more scary. [tense music] ROB HEIL: Brian Cohee had got
his car stuck in the river
00:10:10
and had made a call
to his family for help. Police were notified also. POLICE OFFICER 2: Hey, partner.
00:10:17
Come on, talk to me real quick.
- Sure. POLICE OFFICER 2:
I appreciate it. - I'm really cold.
00:10:21
Is it OK if it's
in here because-- POLICE OFFICER 2: It's fine. TERRI COHEE: Because he is.
00:10:24
POLICE OFFICER 2: That's fine. I didn't-- I did not know that. ROB HEIL: It seemed
like a normal thing
00:10:29
a teenager would
get themselves into. POLICE OFFICER 2: Well,
you're not hurt, right.
00:10:33
You're OK? BRIAN COHEE: No, just
a little cold, is all. POLICE OFFICER 2: Just slide
your pride a little bit?
00:10:37
What were you doing
down here, bud? - Well, I felt like I
needed to get out, like--
00:10:42
and I figured, why not
park here and just-- POLICE OFFICER 2: Just
relax a little bit?
00:10:46
- Relax and think. And I parked on the boat
ramp, and I thought it would be easy to get out.
00:10:51
And it slid into the river. I was able to get out. ROB HEIL: Brian
Cohee told officers
00:10:57
that he was just
hanging out when he had accidentally backed his
car too far into the river.
00:11:03
TERRI COHEE: Yeah. He was an inexperienced driver. POLICE OFFICER 2: OK. Oh, yep.
00:11:09
TERRI COHEE: Teenagers. Does he need to stay here? POLICE OFFICER 2: I'm sorry?
00:11:13
- Is he free to go? He was-- I'm sure he'd like
to go home and get warm.
00:11:16
POLICE OFFICER 2: I'm sure
he'd like to get some pants on. - Yeah, right.
[laughs]
00:11:19
POLICE OFFICER 2: Yeah. It's not a crash.
It's-- - OK. It's just a stupid accident.
00:11:24
POLICE OFFICER 2: So.
I don't. TERRI COHEE: All right-- ROB HEIL: The fact that
Brian's parents were on scene
00:11:30
and telling the officers what
their son had done apparently made a mistake
as an inexperienced driver
00:11:37
did not raise any suspicions. POLICE OFFICER 3:
What'd they say about us looking in the trunk?
00:11:43
POLICE OFFICER 2:
They're good with it. POLICE OFFICER 3: OK. POLICE OFFICER 2: Really
quick question for you.
00:11:47
- OK. POLICE OFFICER 2: So the back
bumper, I don't know. You can probably
see it from here.
00:11:53
There's a lot of red
on the back of that. BRIAN COHEE: Yeah. POLICE OFFICER 2: Dripping
down it all a little bit.
00:11:59
A lot of red. It looks like blood. - Blood? POLICE OFFICER 2: Yeah. I don't know if you-- did
your son hurt himself?
00:12:10
Maybe just have him
do, like, a self-check. Make sure he's OK. Well? TERRI COHEE: Brian, are you OK?
00:12:17
They see blood on the back
bumper of the vehicle. BRIAN COHEE: Really? TERRI COHEE: Yeah.
00:12:23
Did you get hurt? BRIAN COHEE: No! - Are you-- are you sure
you don't have any injuries?
00:12:30
BRIAN COHEE: No, I'm fine. There's blood on it? POLICE OFFICER 2:
We're not sure.
00:12:35
TERRI COHEE: We're not sure. It's a red-- something red
underneath the license plate.
00:12:40
But you're not injured. You don't have any cuts? BRIAN COHEE: No. I don't know what
would cause the water
00:12:47
or whatever it is
on the bumpers. ROB HEIL: Brian
was very calm and cool when talking to his
parents on the phone
00:12:54
and after police
officers had noticed blood on the back of the car. He acted like nothing happened.
00:12:59
There was nothing wrong
and he was very convincing. POLICE OFFICER
2: Let's take it.
00:13:04
Come out here to dump a body. [laughs] [intriguing music] ROB HEIL: Mr.
Barnes was reported
00:13:34
missing by a friend of his
who ran a local business. This friend would see
him on a daily basis
00:13:39
and notice that he
had not been coming around for a couple of days,
which made her concerned.
00:13:44
One key connection
that we found was a wallet belonging
to Mr. Barnes had been located
by Brian Cohee's father
00:13:49
inside the vehicle, and that
was submerged in the river. TRISH MAHRE: When they
realized that a wallet that
00:13:55
was associated
with the boat ramp, some local people
were literally walking the Colorado River
looking for Warren Barnes.
00:14:03
WARREN BARNES'
COWORKER: He literally shows up every
morning, every day, without fail, like it's 6:00.
00:14:08
Sometimes a little sooner. And we always let him
in before the customers. We give him free coffee.
00:14:12
He's the nicest old man ever. [somber music] - I am Gail Gandy. I am the youngest
niece of Warren Barnes.
00:14:24
Uncle Warren is the seventh
of nine children. He was definitely a fun uncle. He liked being around people.
00:14:35
He really enjoyed
country music. He definitely loved to read. My uncle Warren would
read books downtown.
00:14:45
A local shop owner
actually would give him a chair so he could sit out
in the sun to absorb the sun
00:14:52
and read his book and be
out with the nature. He would help shop owners
bring in boxes and stuff.
00:15:00
- And that's the weird
thing is, I said, I'll see you tomorrow. He said, I'll be here.
00:15:04
I'll see you tomorrow. I don't-- I don't know. I just have
a really bad feeling
00:15:08
because it's unlike him. - We are investigating
the missing person. WOMAN: OK.
00:15:13
I'm just going to keep looking
until I hear from you guys. POLICE OFFICER 4: OK.
00:15:17
- I'm too worried
about him, so. All right.
Thank you guys. Thanks for coming out
and looking for him.
00:15:26
[ominous music] [tense music] MORIAH WICK: I'm Deputy Wick. I work for the motor
County Sheriff's Office.
00:16:02
I saw the call populating,
and the dispatcher will take the phone call. And then they start
throwing in notes
00:16:07
as they're developing
the call, and we can see those notes start coming in. MORIAH WICK: My first
response was,
00:16:32
mm, it's probably
a Halloween costume, or maybe it's animal parts. - I was a patrol deputy at the
time and I am now a sergeant.
00:16:46
The reporting party
had said that she had found what she believed
was a human head and
00:16:51
hands in her son's
closet, so that's pretty much what we had as we
were headed out that way.
00:16:59
So driving down here, it's
just, what are we going to? What am I going to see?
00:17:04
I can't just go in there
and think somebody's guilty or pull my gun out.
00:17:09
And I have to let their actions
dictate what my actions are going to be after that.
00:17:16
As we're approaching,
I'm going to gauge what type of reaction,
what type of cooperation
00:17:23
are we getting. Are they aggressive or calm? What's going on, man? - Great. I am going to cooperate.
00:17:39
THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
OK, so parents have some concerns
of some stuff they may have found in your room.
00:17:43
- Um, yeah, I believe so. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
And what would it be? - A human head and hands.
00:17:54
- Are we dealing
with somebody that has a mental illness
that is hallucinating, seeing this, perceiving it?
00:18:00
Or is it something
fake that he's made and he's playing
a prank on mom? I wanted to verify.
00:18:08
Like, you said human
head and hands. Are they real? Like, for real human
head and hands?
00:18:13
- Yes. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: From? - That fellow who
went missing recently. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
Which fellow was that?
00:18:19
BRIAN COHEE: Warren. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
Warren. And how did you
end up with him?
00:18:23
- I murdered him. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
With what? - A knife. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: And
why would you have done that?
00:18:29
- I've always wondered
what murder felt like. [ominous music] THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
And now my brain is like,
00:18:35
OK, we-- we have something. Do you have anything
on you that's going to cut,
00:18:41
poke, hurts, stick to anything
without reaching for nothing? Don't reach for nothing.
00:18:44
- My phone and my wallet.
THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: OK. Well, I'm going to have
you face that way.
00:18:47
Put your hands on top
of your head for me real quick. I just want to make sure you
interlace your fingers for me
00:18:49
real quick.
All right? OK. How did you come
across the gentleman? - I was driving.
00:18:57
- Uh-huh. - And I saw a strange
shape near the railway. So I parked my car
and investigated it,
00:19:03
and I found it to be
a man sleeping. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: OK. Where's the knife at?
00:19:08
BRIAN COHEE: It is
in my sunken car. - And at that point in time,
with the information
00:19:14
he was giving, the way
he was answering, my brain started
to shift from, this isn't real to, OK, so maybe
he found a dead person
00:19:23
to, oh, my gosh, I think this
kid really killed somebody. - When I killed him, I
tried disposing of his body
00:19:32
by putting it in the river, but
I parked too low in the river. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
Where's
00:19:35
the rest of his body at? - Huh? THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
Where's the rest of the body at?
00:19:40
- What parts? - His family is there listening
to everything he's saying, and he seemed unbothered
and unconcerned with anything
00:19:51
that was occurring. - I'm going to have
you walk over here. You're going to sit
in the back of my--
00:19:56
my partner's control patrol
car for a minute, OK? MORIAH WICK: OK. I referenced to Sergeant
Stuckenschneider
00:20:03
a motion, which we
use to handcuff, and he's primary
deputy, and he kind of gave me the head nod of no.
00:20:12
We make those decisions
based upon behavior, mannerisms, cooperation. BRIAN COHEE: How are you.
MORIAH WICK: Good, sir.
00:20:21
How are you?
You said your name is Brian? BRIAN COHEE: Yes.
Ah! I'm not feeling too well.
00:20:25
MORIAH WICK: You're
not feeling too well? BRIAN COHEE: These
past few days, I've been very, very anxious.
00:20:28
MORIAH WICK: That's
understandable. MORIAH WICK: So what we're
going to have you do here
00:20:32
is I'm just going to have
you sit-in the back here, OK? I'm going to turn on the air
for you in a second.
00:20:36
That way you're not too hot. Are you a hot-blooded
or cold-blooded kind of guy?
00:20:39
BRIAN COHEE: I am
very cold blooded. MORIAH WICK: The way
he said it to me, I took it as he wasn't
talking about the temperature.
00:20:48
So hop in here. I know you're tall, so it's a
little bit of a tight squeeze,
00:20:51
but like I said, I'll
get that air on for you. - Sorry about that. MORIAH WICK: All right.
00:20:56
TERRI COHEE: I
can't believe it. Oh my god. MORIAH WICK: It's
kind of a time
00:21:00
to not really know what, so-- [crying] - Random too.
Why? I don't get it. MORIAH WICK: How old is Brian?
- 19.
00:21:09
- 19. MORIAH WICK: He's 19. It was a very wild
situation to watch unfold. It was kind of like
their whole life was falling
00:21:20
apart right in that moment. THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
Can you walk me inside? So that's when I
have dad take me
00:21:28
inside so that I can
verify for myself that what we have is an actual
human head and hands.
00:21:34
Can I go in there
and verify here first? - Oh, yeah, please.
We haven't seen it yet.
00:21:37
We haven't. [suspenseful music] THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER:
So as I'm going in the house,
00:21:42
I'm expecting to see something. BRIAN COHEE SR: I promise you-- THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: OK.
BRIAN COHEE SR: --see it.
00:21:52
I didn't want him to run. - I could tell right away as
soon as I lifted up the towel.
00:21:58
Yep. It was indeed
a real human head. Yeah. ROB HEIL: This is a home where
Brian's mother ran a daycare.
00:22:09
Several children were
present on a daily basis. And to think there was a human
head and hands inside the house
00:22:16
was quite disturbing. [dramatic music] THOMAS STUCKENSCHNEIDER: 22-42. Are you clear for a call?
00:22:30
Oh, yeah. You might want to call
investigations. So-- oh, yeah. He-- he already-- I asked
him what was going on.
00:22:36
He said, I killed
a guy, I stabbed him, the head's in the sink. The body is, uh, in the river.
00:22:43
The sound by my voice
that it looks real? It is. Now we are actually verified
that this is a murder
00:22:52
and this is an actual person. Now I'm just
calling the cavalry. MORIAH WICK: All right, Brian.
00:23:01
We're headed
to the Sheriff's Office, and your family's going
to go with us, OK?
00:23:06
I've got one male on board. We're en route to the office. Brian, I'm going
to roll up these windows
00:23:10
because the air gets
really loud back there, OK? We do often try to keep people
at ease as much as we can,
00:23:18
even in situations
where they've just confessed to murder. Brian was just that
same even keel demeanor.
00:23:26
He did not show emotion
one way or the other. When we arrived
at the Sheriff's Office,
00:23:34
we pulled
into the back area so I can walk him through
into our Investigations unit.
00:23:40
OK, Brian. - Thank you. MORIAH WICK: No problem, sir. Let's go. Walk with me.
00:23:47
We're going to walk
right this way, OK? BRIAN COHEE: You're fine
with me not being in cuffs.
00:23:50
MORIAH WICK: I'm fine with
you not being in cuffs. BRIAN COHEE: OK.
Thank you.
00:23:55
- I felt fully comfortable. He was still very polite. He didn't do anything that I
thought was indicative of him
00:24:03
trying to run or be violent. Take another left. Hard left. Right here, right here.
00:24:08
All right. I walked him
into the interview room and told him he
could have a seat,
00:24:12
and that somebody would
be with him shortly. [ominous music] ROB HEIL: Even though
Brian Cohee had confessed,
00:24:18
we knew we had
to gain some insight into his mental state
and things that would lead
00:24:23
us to understand his thinking. KERRY DAYNES: What are
we dealing with here? Is this somebody who has
acted on hallucinations?
00:24:33
Delusions? Is this somebody
that is suffering with a mental illness? PETE BURG: Brian?
Howdy?
00:24:42
- Hi.
- My name is Pete. I'll be right back with you. I just didn't know if you
needed a drink or--
00:24:46
- I'd like some water, please.
- Water? OK. My name's Pete Burg
I'm an investigator
00:24:52
with the Mesa County
Sheriff's Office, and I interviewed Brian Cohee. This is Lissah Norcross.
00:24:57
- Hi.
How are you? - I'm OK.
You? - Good.
Thanks. I'm investigator Norcross.
00:25:03
I've worked with investigator
Burg for a really long time. Our job is to get the truth,
whatever that truth is.
00:25:12
PETE BURG: I want
your birthday, Brian. - January 10, 2002. - And your address? - Which one?
00:25:21
- Um, I mean, yeah-- - My dad's, then
there's my mom and dad. - Which one-- do you
like both or one or--
00:25:29
- I sleep at my mom's. - OK. - But I often visit
my dad's every day. LISSAH NORCROSS: My first
impressions of just looking
00:25:37
at Brian, he looks
like the typical 19, 20-year-old young person. Brian is well-spoken.
00:25:47
He's a smart young man. He's cooperative. He's willing to sit
and talk with us.
00:25:52
PETE BURG: And how
did you get here? BRIAN COHEE: I
murdered someone. - OK. But how did you
get to my office?
00:26:00
- Well, um, the police drove
me here from my mom's house. - OK. - When somebody is very
quick to say things like that
00:26:10
and implicate themselves in
serious crimes, that tells me I have someone who has
a unique personality here,
00:26:17
and we're going to want
to talk to them a lot more. PETE BURG: You said
you murdered someone.
00:26:21
BRIAN COHEE: I did. PETE BURG: Do you
know the person? - No. And, uh, I am in a bad
state of mind at that time.
00:26:28
I have major
depressive disorder, so I am not thinking
something positive to me.
00:26:35
- One of the things that I
knew we needed to ask about was any type of mental
health issues
00:26:41
that he's either been diagnosed
with or he believes he has. When you say you have
a major depressive disorder,
00:26:49
I'm just curious
what those are. - Well, actually
I have several. I had high functioning
Asperger's.
00:26:55
LISSAH NORCROSS: OK. - I have ADHD and a major
depressive disorder. And they also said I
was schizo something.
00:27:06
That isn't me misremembering. They just said you have
fear schizo something,
00:27:11
whether that be schizophrenia,
schizoaffective, schizotypal, or schizoid disorder.
00:27:17
They said I had something
that was schizo. - Can you imagine
at the age of 19, you've got this list
of diagnoses, list of labels?
00:27:29
Here are all the--
the reasons why there's something different about you. There's something
wrong about you.
00:27:36
None of this is being
addressed therapeutically. And he feels like a freak. - It seemed like Brian had
studied serial killers a lot
00:27:48
to me. And he did want to be
like those people. I mean, it seemed like
maybe they were his heroes.
00:27:55
[ominous music] BRIAN COHEE: My nickname in
high school is Jeffrey Dahmer. PETE BURG: OK.
00:28:00
- I had a reputation that I
would become a serial killer. - OK. Why did you get
that reputation?
00:28:05
- Um, because of how off
putting I was in school. I was not social. I didn't like anyone.
00:28:13
I would purposefully
make offensive, crass, rude comments just to get
a rise out of people.
00:28:20
- OK. BRIAN COHEE: To ruffle
their feathers. PETE BURG: Most
people obviously aren't going to jump from
I've never done anything
00:28:30
wrong to killing a person. They have a progression
of leading up to, now I'm killing people.
00:28:39
LISSAH NORCROSS: Have
you ever done it before? - Nah.
No. PETE BURG: OK.
You got F, right?
00:28:43
- Yeah. PETE BURG: How about animals? Did you practice on anything? - Yes. A cat has paws and claws.
00:29:08
They can hurt you. So I heard that the cat
into the sleeping bag and beat it and strangled it.
00:29:13
And for a snap its neck, I put
the large, heavy airsoft gun. It's metal. So it's heavy.
00:29:37
I then decapitate the cat. And hit the head
in a wine cork box. I kept it for three days.
00:29:48
Then it started to stink. And then I disposed both in
the trash and got away with it.
00:29:55
DR. JULIA SHAW: At the age
of 16, he kills a cat. I think psychologically that is
quite an extreme thing to do.
00:30:03
It's also almost the cliché
of a serial killer, as that is the kind of behavior
that is associated with callous
00:30:10
and emotional traits, with the
inability to have empathy or sympathy for other creatures.
00:30:15
Brian Cohee actually says about
his own behavior that he was, in quotes, "high on homicide."
00:30:20
Now, what that suggests is
that in the process of killing while he is doing this,
and also afterwards, arguably,
00:30:27
that he is enjoying the
adrenaline rush he's getting, and also that presumably he's
needing more and more of it
00:30:33
to get the same effect. And so that's what we
see with his behavior, is that he's graduating to
increasingly violent actions.
00:30:39
[suspenseful music] ROB HEIL: Brian Cohee had
talked about killing a cat and keeping the remains
in his house.
00:30:48
He indicated that he gets some
sense of excitement from this, and that might have
been part of the reason
00:30:54
why he kept a human
head in hands. BRIAN COHEE: I
was driving along and I see a shape here
on the railway tracks.
00:31:09
I'm like, oh,
that's interesting. So I go up and as I'm
looking, I see a large
00:31:17
being wrapped in a canvas. PETE BURG: OK. BRIAN COHEE: And I'm like,
that's homeless person.
00:31:23
So I grabbed my knife. I pulled back the canvas,
and I stabbed his neck. He was panicking at first
in his old man voice.
00:31:34
He was saying,
what are you doing? What are you doing?
Why? Ahh! And I said, I've
been wanting to do
00:31:39
this for a long [bleep] time. And I just kept
on stabbing his neck. I was just-- is it OK
if I do a demonstration?
00:31:45
PETE BURG: Oh, yeah. - This is him. I was straddled on top
of him like this. PETE BURG: OK.
00:31:51
BRIAN COHEE: And, uh,
he couldn't fight back. It was actually
surprisingly easy.
00:31:55
I was barely breaking a sweat. I thought a homeless guy,
he's going to be tough.
00:31:59
But, no, it was actually
surprisingly easy. And during the time,
I was growling and making animalistic noises.
00:32:08
[snarls] PETE BURG: But why
were you doing that? BRIAN COHEE: I suppose
it was a fenzy.
00:32:13
PETE BURG: OK. BRIAN COHEE: I was so excited,
so rushed up on adrenaline and, hey, let's just--
00:32:19
[mumbles] After I
killed him, I just couldn't stop saying stinky,
dirty, dirty, sticky, stinky.
00:32:27
I stripped his clothes. I cut open his belly
to see his guts. They're really pink.
00:32:36
[chuckles] Sorry,
that was morbid. And, uh, then I
cut off his head. And then I cut off his hands.
00:32:46
And then I took the head,
put it in a leftover box. GAIL GANDY: Uncle Warren was
vulnerable without a home when
00:32:59
I found out he was murdered. It really hit hard. And I know I had a hard time
just knowing how he passed.
00:33:13
Uh, it was senseless. We were all shocked. We were just-- It was very, very
hard for all of us.
00:33:24
DR. JULIA SHAW: I
think in the heat of the moment of killing
somebody, the reason why
00:33:28
you might disfigure
their face is to try and keep your high going. So if you have done this crime,
not out of any real reason
00:33:38
other than because you
feel like you want to know what it feels
like to kill somebody,
00:33:42
and if you're there,
you might also then go, well, I wonder what
it feels like to gouge
00:33:46
somebody's eyes out. I wonder what it feels
like to cut someone's face. Now, of course, that's
all very extreme,
00:33:52
but if you're already in that
mode of trying things and seeing how they make
you feel, that to me
00:33:57
makes perfect
sense that he would try lots of different
things and go increasingly
00:34:01
more severe with his actions. So he's trying to maximize the
emotional payoff of his murder.
00:34:08
LISSAH NORCROSS:
One of the things that makes Brian
the scariest type of person is that he found this easy
to do and admits that.
00:34:17
[ominous music] BRIAN COHEE: I talked
to the arm bits around. Like, I took the right arm bit.
00:34:24
Threw it out. And then took the left arm bit. Threw it out. PETE BURG: Somewhere
around that bridge?
00:34:29
BRIAN COHEE: [sighs] Yeah. ROB HEIL: The crime
scene was located near the Justice Center,
near the courthouse
00:34:37
here in in Mesa County,
underneath a bridge. And that was a location where
homeless people do often stay.
00:34:46
It's fairly secluded. POLICE OFFICER 5:
There's an arm. There's another arm.
00:34:54
POLICE OFFICER 6:
Let's do some pictures. POLICE OFFICER 5:
There's another one.
00:34:57
POLICE OFFICER 7: Right. Here's a leg. Well, it could
be the upper arm. ROB HEIL: This was
a disturbing crime scene,
00:35:05
as there were
human remains that were thrown around and
discarded after the victim
00:35:11
was dismembered. DR. JULIA SHAW:
The most common reason for why somebody cut
somebody else's head off
00:35:16
after the commission
of a murder, especially, is
to hide the body, and that is called
a defensive strategy.
00:35:24
So you have already
done this, and you're trying to defend
yourself from actually
00:35:28
having evidence against you. What we also have
with Brian Cohee is an offensive strategy where
he is decapitating somebody
00:35:35
because he wants
to and he's mutilating the body because he's getting
some sort of enjoyment
00:35:40
out of it or a thrill. And so that is
incredibly uncommon. [intriguing music] PETE BURG: When did you start
thinking about killing people?
00:35:52
- Six months ago. TRISH MAHRE: The six
months before the murder, Brian Cohee's parents
found him with a backpack
00:35:59
full of supplies. We referred to it
as a kill kit. BRIAN COHEE: My parents found
a kit I had been assembling.
00:36:15
It had hammers,
shovels, knives, large zip ties, duct tape. I thought I was meant
for hurting people,
00:36:27
but they found it, though. TRISH MAHRE: His
parents discovered it. They were very,
very concerned and
00:36:35
it did not make sense to them
why he would have this kit. So they took it from him.
00:36:41
- It was an ultimatum, where
if I didn't throw it away, they would call the police.
00:36:49
PETE BURG: And then
two months ago, he started driving around again. BRIAN COHEE: Yeah.
00:36:53
PETE BURG: With the new kit? - It was just clubs at night. PETE BURG: OK.
And a plan?
00:36:57
- Yeah, a plan. TRISH MAHRE: He was
trolling or lurking around town trying to identify
what type of person
00:37:05
he would ultimately kill. BRIAN COHEE: I was
figuring the police don't-- this is not to be
taken offense,
00:37:14
but police, they don't
seem to care as much about high-risk individuals,
homeless people,
00:37:22
prostitutes, et cetera. So I was deliberately
looking for someone who lived that type of life.
00:37:28
PETE BURG: OK. ROB HEIL: In early
February of 2021, Brian was conducting
searches about how deadly
00:37:34
a stab wound would be,
where homeless people sleep and how people react
to being held at knifepoint.
00:37:41
Brian had also conducted
internet searches related to river
washing away evidence.
00:37:46
And also, how long does it
take for a body to stink? It seemed like
Brian was obsessed
00:37:51
with committing
a murder after looking at his internet searches. [tense music] PETE BURG: So any
idea of like, the time
00:38:03
of night when you started
looking for this person? BRIAN COHEE: The night
of the murder?
00:38:07
PETE BURG: Yeah. BRIAN COHEE: It was 10:00 PM. PETE BURG: And what
were you wearing?
00:38:14
BRIAN COHEE: Well, you
know the movie "Halloween"? Michael Myers? PETE BURG: Mm-hmm.
00:38:18
BRIAN COHEE:
For Halloween last year, I bought that as a costume. You'll find
the mask in my room.
00:38:25
PETE BURG: OK. - And, uh, yeah, I just
associated that piece of-- article of clothing
with violence.
00:38:34
That's why I was wearing it. PETE BURG: That night? BRIAN COHEE: Yes. - He's getting himself psyched
up for this grand event,
00:38:44
so it's almost like
a kid playing dress up. This is an outfit that he
associates with violence,
00:38:53
and he's trying to get
himself into character. BRIAN COHEE: I found
Warren at 11:00.
00:38:58
I murdered him. 15 minutes I spent
there mauling his body. Got back home at 12:00 and--
00:39:10
I tried to go
to sleep for an hour. I was worried about it. - He actually went home to bed.
00:39:15
Couldn't sleep because he was
afraid he had left evidence. And that's when he
returned to the scene
00:39:20
behind the Justice Center,
and ultimately took pieces of the body and disposed
of the primary pieces
00:39:26
of the body
in the Colorado River, which is when his car
got stuck in the river.
00:39:30
[ominous music] The rest of his torso and legs
were never discovered. I have never handled
a murder case
00:39:40
where a human body was
murdered and destroyed after the murder in this way. ROB HEIL: There was
more than enough
00:39:50
evidence found in the home
and at the scenes, in addition
to Brian's confession,
00:39:54
to determine that
he was the person who had killed Warren Barnes. - Within the next
15 years of my life
00:40:03
looks set in stone, prison. TRISH MAHRE: He was
very much looking forward
to the consequences that he
00:40:11
knew were going to be coming. He just misjudged the amount
of the consequences. PETE BURG: What
did it feel like?
00:40:23
- It was intense. It was, um-- it was
a rush of adrenaline. It wasn't fear. It was just pure--
00:40:34
what's the word? Um, excitement, I suppose. Not excitement as in joy. Just excitement
as in increased heartbeat.
00:40:43
- Did you enjoy it
or not enjoy it? - Um, did I enjoy it? I don't know. I was perpetuating
the whole thing.
00:40:56
I didn't enjoy it,
but I didn't hate it. LISSAH NORCROSS: What did
you think of the feeling?
00:41:02
- I thought it would be
the best feeling in the world. DR. JULIA SHAW: I think when
he says I didn't enjoy it,
00:41:10
but I didn't hate
it, what he's trying to say is, I'm not a sadist. I didn't do this
just because I get
00:41:16
pleasure from hurting people. It's more that I did
a thing because I thought it was interesting.
00:41:21
And we know that he got
at least a thrill out of it. That emotional/just physical
response that he was maybe
00:41:28
struggling to get elsewhere. I think Brian Cohee killed
Warren Barnes because he
00:41:33
wanted to feel something. And notably,
and this is where we get to those callous,
unemotional traits,
00:41:40
he seems to be completely
detached from the fact that he has taken
somebody's life.
00:41:45
He doesn't have those
feelings of remorse and guilt. PETE BURG: After his interview,
we took Brian back to the jail
00:41:55
and as he was
sitting in booking, he kind of grinned
and said, I feel like Hannibal Lecter
right now and kind of
00:42:01
got a grin like he was
a celebrity at this point, because he had now killed
somebody and got arrested,
00:42:07
because you don't hear
about serial killers that don't get caught. So now he got caught, and he's
famous in his mind, I believe.
00:42:15
But then it was almost like
another part of euphoria of, and now I get to go to jail
and tell people I'm a killer.
00:42:22
[disquieting music] ROB HEIL: Brian pleaded not
guilty by reason of insanity. He was looking
at a life sentence.
00:42:33
TRISH MAHRE: This
crime sounds crazy, but just because it sounds
crazy and is not expected,
00:42:43
that does not make him insane. KERRY DAYNES: The plea of not
guilty by reason of insanity
00:42:51
was entirely dismissed,
because actually he had proven his legal
sanity all the way
00:42:58
through his police interview. He was not hallucinating. He was not struggling with
paranoid beliefs or delusions.
00:43:09
He was fully in control
of his behavior. ROB HEIL: I think the jury
did have a hard time hearing
00:43:17
the story of what
happened to Mr. Barnes, that he was an innocent
victim who did nothing
00:43:22
to provoke the situation. I think it was a lot
to handle for them. GAIL GANDY: The fact that
this monster would do--
00:43:33
would attack a 69-year-old
man while he was sleeping, it was such a cowardly act.
00:43:43
The judge said this was the
worst crime he had ever heard in his lifetime on the bench.
00:43:53
I know it shocked everybody. It wasn't just our family
that was affected. It was pretty much everybody in
this valley was affected by it.
00:44:06
TRISH MAHRE: Brian Cohee, who
committed first-degree murder, every murder is bad, but this
one was particularly horrific.
00:44:13
Ultimately, he's serving
the appropriate sentence of life-- life without parole.
00:44:19
KERRY DAYNES: I think
that Cohee killed Warren because he was feeling
down, feeling lost,
00:44:28
feeling that he couldn't relate
to anybody in the world other than serial killers.
00:44:35
- I think there were two things
going on when Brian Cohee murdered Warren Barnes.
00:44:40
I think the first thing
is he was thrill seeking. He was trying
to get a rush, and
00:44:44
we could see that
as a pattern of behavior, where he perpetrated
various violent acts
00:44:49
over the course
of his life, and they got more and more extreme. The other thing that
I think was happening
00:44:54
is that we know
that Brian Cohee had a fascination with
serial killers, he would record
their kill counts.
00:45:00
He was fascinated by the fame
that comes with killing people, and I think it's possible
that he saw himself
00:45:10
as someone who would
fit that kind of label, that maybe that kind of fame
would look good on him.
00:45:18
- This is somebody that is
really struggling to experience any kind of emotion. He's so cut off from
his own emotions.
00:45:25
He doesn't have a language
for his own emotions. You know, he's expecting
to feel something.
00:45:32
I think that a lot
of things are best left as fantasies
because the reality just
00:45:37
doesn't measure up. GAIL GANDY: Uncle Warren got
the moniker the Reading Man,
00:45:49
because a lot of the Downtown
business owners saw him reading all the time. There is a memorial
downtown off of Main Street.
00:45:59
I believe that we
should remember my uncle Warren being the kind,
generous person that he was.
00:46:07
Remember to take time just
to go out and soak up some sun. Tomorrow may not come for you.
00:46:16
Enjoy the little things
in life and the here and now. [theme music]