Man charged with killing KY mother, teen was previously convicted of manslaughter
The man accused of killing a Kentucky woman and her teenage daughter last week in Rowan County was also convicted of manslaughter in 2005.
Joshua W. Cottrell, 44, of Morehead, is charged with killing Kayla Blake, 37, and her 13-year-old daughter Kennedi McWhorter. They were found dead Friday at a home on Spring Street after a coworker went to check on Blake because she had not shown up to work, according to the Rowan County Coroner’s Office.
Cottrell was found at a hospital in Paducah. After being treated and released from the hospital, Cottrell was taken to the McCracken County Jail on two counts of murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence, according to state police.
Police have not indicated a potential motive for Cottrell, but the charges come about 20 years after Cottrell was convicted of manslaughter in the death of 36-year-old Richie Phillips.
In June 2003, two fishermen found Phillips’ body floating in a suitcase on Rough River Lake in Western Kentucky. His wallet was found two days later, about 20 to 30 miles away, in a stream that feeds into the lake.
Cottrell, who was just 21 at the time, was arrested in Grayson County. At his trial, he testified that Phillips made unwanted sexual advances toward him at an Elizabethtown motel room, and it resulted in a fight.
Cottrell told the jury he killed Phillips in self-defense. He said he panicked after realizing Phillips was dead, and he stuffed the body in a suitcase and dumped it in a nearby lake.
But Hardin County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Shaw said in his closing statements during a 2005 trial that Cottrell harbored a “steaming anger” toward gay men and had lured Phillips to his motel room to kill him.
A jury deliberated nearly nine hours before finding Cottrell guilty of second-degree manslaughter, the lesser of the charges he faced. The jury also found him guilty of theft by unlawful taking of more than $300 and tampering with physical evidence.
Cottrell was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was granted parole and released 2 1/2 years later, according to LEX 18.
Cottrell’s bond is set at $1 million in the Morehead murder case, according to jail records.
