Police suspect that an Indiana woman convicted of injecting her husband with a fatal dose of heroin may have also killed nine other men and served the remains of one at a neighborhood barbecue.
In April, Kelly M. Cochran was convicted and sentenced to 65 years in prison for murdering husband Jason Cochran. But the 34-year-old woman was already serving a life sentence for murdering another man, Chris Regan, who disappeared in 2014, Fox News reported.
Further investigations indicated the woman may be responsible for the deaths of as many as nine other men who disappeared around the Midwest.
The murder of Regan came to light during the investigation into the overdose death of Jason Cochran. During questioning, Kelly admitted she and Jason lured Chris Regan into their home, where they shot him to death, dismembered him, and scattered his remains in a nearby wooded area. Kelly even saved some of Regan’s body and served it at a neighborhood party, investigators said.
The murder of Regan apparently became an issue between the married couple, and the problem eventually led to Kelly’s giving Jason a fatal overdose of heroin, police later discovered.
The case is featured in a documentary called Dead North, which will air on May 28 and May 29 on Investigation Discovery.
The case also had an unforeseen consequence for one of the officers involved in the investigation. Former Iron River Police Chief Laura Frizzo’s involvement in the case has led to her dismissal from the force. Her investigation became an issue between her and Iron River city manager David Thayer, who ultimately insisted she pursue the case only on her personal time, instead of on-duty time as a police officer.
The chief, however, insisted on continuing her participation in the case on duty, and the matter eventually caused Thayer to fire her for “irreconcilable differences.”
“The toll of this case on Frizzo’s career [is] significant. Despite disagreements with the Iron River City Manager regarding her ‘bullheaded’ investigation style, Frizzo remains adamant that the case isn’t closed,” a news release for the documentary noted. “The City Manager relieves Frizzo of her duties just as Kelly admits to having other ‘friends’ buried in Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee and Minnesota; however, the identities and specific locations of these bodies remain a mystery to this day.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.