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Brent Cotta Pleads Guilty, Gets 30-Year Sentence In The Death of His Wife, Cassie Cotta
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Re: Brent Cotta Pleads Guilty, Gets 30-Year Sentence In The Death of His Wife, Cassie Cotta
Missing Wife’s Body Found; Husband Arrested
Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:06 am
Updated: 9:29 am, Thu Jan 5, 2012.
By Jordan Grummer
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Fort Smith police arrested a local man on suspicion of first-degree murder Tuesday evening after they say he gave inconsistent statements about his missing wife’s whereabouts and eventually led investigators to her body.
Brent Dan Cotta, 33, of Fort Smith was arrested at about 6:30 p.m. after a follow-up interview with investigators. The body of his wife, 24-year-old Cassie Cotta who had been missing since Friday night, was found near Gun Club Road in rural Crawford County earlier Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release issued by Sgt. Daniel Grubbs, public information officer with the department.
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“We feel confident that we have the person responsible for her death in custody,” said Capt. Jarrard Copeland.
Cassie Cotta’s body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy, but there were no signs of “obvious trauma” on her body, Grubbs said.
“At this point, we’re absolutley ruling this as a homicide,” Grubbs said.
Interviews with Brent Cotta, neighbors and friends did not provide a consistent timeline from when Cassie Cotta was last seen Friday night to Tuesday, Grubbs said.
In the initial police report, Cassie Cotta’s mother, Pearl Cook, said she believed her daughter went to a party in Alma with a man known only as Brandon, but Grubbs said it became obvious she never went to that party.
“There were inconsistencies in timelines and in different chains and series of events of what he was doing, where he (Brent Cotta) was going and when and where,” Grubbs said. “When you match that with what some of the neighbors were saying, there’s just some very gross inconsistencies to where really it pointed more to this being a foul play situation.”
Copeland said Brent Cotta was cooperative with lead detectives Adam Creek and Jeff Craghead, but declined to go into the specifics of their follow-up interview. He added that Brent Cotta assisted investigators in locating Casie Cotta’s body.
The body was found at about 3:30 p.m., according to the news release. Although he was being questioned by detectives, Brent Cotta updated his Facebook status to “Love her.” at about 5:10 p.m.
Investigators also gathered evidence from the Cottas’ SUV and home, but Grubbs would not say what that evidence was.
Brent Cotta has been arrested twice recently in domestic violence cases, Grubbs said. In Oct. 2010, he was arrested for second-degree domestic assault, and in March 2011, he pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic battery, second offense.
He was being held at the Sebastian County Adult Dentention Center without bond.
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Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:06 am
Updated: 9:29 am, Thu Jan 5, 2012.
By Jordan Grummer
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Fort Smith police arrested a local man on suspicion of first-degree murder Tuesday evening after they say he gave inconsistent statements about his missing wife’s whereabouts and eventually led investigators to her body.
Brent Dan Cotta, 33, of Fort Smith was arrested at about 6:30 p.m. after a follow-up interview with investigators. The body of his wife, 24-year-old Cassie Cotta who had been missing since Friday night, was found near Gun Club Road in rural Crawford County earlier Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release issued by Sgt. Daniel Grubbs, public information officer with the department.
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“We feel confident that we have the person responsible for her death in custody,” said Capt. Jarrard Copeland.
Cassie Cotta’s body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy, but there were no signs of “obvious trauma” on her body, Grubbs said.
“At this point, we’re absolutley ruling this as a homicide,” Grubbs said.
Interviews with Brent Cotta, neighbors and friends did not provide a consistent timeline from when Cassie Cotta was last seen Friday night to Tuesday, Grubbs said.
In the initial police report, Cassie Cotta’s mother, Pearl Cook, said she believed her daughter went to a party in Alma with a man known only as Brandon, but Grubbs said it became obvious she never went to that party.
“There were inconsistencies in timelines and in different chains and series of events of what he was doing, where he (Brent Cotta) was going and when and where,” Grubbs said. “When you match that with what some of the neighbors were saying, there’s just some very gross inconsistencies to where really it pointed more to this being a foul play situation.”
Copeland said Brent Cotta was cooperative with lead detectives Adam Creek and Jeff Craghead, but declined to go into the specifics of their follow-up interview. He added that Brent Cotta assisted investigators in locating Casie Cotta’s body.
The body was found at about 3:30 p.m., according to the news release. Although he was being questioned by detectives, Brent Cotta updated his Facebook status to “Love her.” at about 5:10 p.m.
Investigators also gathered evidence from the Cottas’ SUV and home, but Grubbs would not say what that evidence was.
Brent Cotta has been arrested twice recently in domestic violence cases, Grubbs said. In Oct. 2010, he was arrested for second-degree domestic assault, and in March 2011, he pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic battery, second offense.
He was being held at the Sebastian County Adult Dentention Center without bond.
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Re: Brent Cotta Pleads Guilty, Gets 30-Year Sentence In The Death of His Wife, Cassie Cotta
Cassie Cotta Tragic Murder Even Sadder After Viewing Video Bring Cassie Home!
By John G. Kays
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The manner in which I assimilated information regarding Cassie Cotta`s sad story was unsettling. News coverage (up to Jan. 3rd) was still reporting that Cassie was merely missing, whereas I read elsewhere her body had been found in rural Crawford County and that her husband, Brent Cotta, has been charged with first-degree murder in her death. That is, in my research, I took in older news with the knowledge of what the tragic outcome in mind.
The effect on me was disconcerting, and with the awareness that the husband was the culprit, the unfortunate twist of fate added a notion of irony to the unfolding of ill-fated events. A comment made by Brent Cotta (before he was arrested) to 4029TV (from the Fort Smith, Arkansas area) can immediately be interpreted as suspicious and a nervous character portrait of his wife, Cassie Cotta.
"She`s colorful, she`s irritable, she`s blunt, she`s beautiful, she`s perfect." An odd thing to say, as it is imbued with both a portion of love and a bit of contempt (as I interpret his brazen, off the cuffs comment.) Moreover, Brent had been the one to call Cassie`s mother Friday night and report she hadn`t showed up to work yet (Cassie was a bartender at Perry`s Place).
Bars everywhere are going to be most busy on this New Year`s Eve weekend. So Cassie not showing up to work (when the money probably would be good) is a give away that something was not right. I`ve read also that Cassie was apparently intoxicated last Friday night (Dec. 30th). Who exactly saw her in this state to know it to be true has not been disclosed from local news reports.
It`s said that Cassie`s primary conduit to friends was through Facebook. When the posts to her account went silent Friday, people knew something was wrong. But her car remained at the house she lives in with her husband. The Fort Smith Police Department found some evidence at the home and from Cassie`s car that suggested foul play. The nature of this evidence has not yet been made public.
Since Brent Cotta has been booked for first-degree murder, the evidence must be substantial. It`s also been reported that somehow, it was Brent who led them to the location of Cassie`s body, off Hwy 69. Yet another piece of information we don`t know, is the cause of her death. There were no immediate signs of trauma to her body (as reported by 4029TV.com - Cassie Cotta`s Husband Charged With Murder).
You will want to see the YouTube video Bring Cassie Home!, though it will make you very sad. It seems to have been produced before these latest troubling developments, and this is what makes it all the sadder. Yea, Cassie is very pretty and seems to have had lots of friends and people who liked her. This makes her tragic outcome all the more disturbing.
What was Brent`s motive? Was he intoxicated himself last Friday? JVM`s Issues mentioned something last night about a small altercation Cassie had with someone on Facebook. Could Brent have seen this post then got jealous? This is a possibility! And it sounds as if alcohol may have been a big factor contributing to this unfortunate situation. Please watch the YouTube video (which I`ll link for you here) and try to remember Cassie Cotta in just this way.
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Don't know HOW we missed this horrible tragedy! If I had not been on Twitter, would have never seen it! Am doing a google alert for her. So sad!
By John G. Kays
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The manner in which I assimilated information regarding Cassie Cotta`s sad story was unsettling. News coverage (up to Jan. 3rd) was still reporting that Cassie was merely missing, whereas I read elsewhere her body had been found in rural Crawford County and that her husband, Brent Cotta, has been charged with first-degree murder in her death. That is, in my research, I took in older news with the knowledge of what the tragic outcome in mind.
The effect on me was disconcerting, and with the awareness that the husband was the culprit, the unfortunate twist of fate added a notion of irony to the unfolding of ill-fated events. A comment made by Brent Cotta (before he was arrested) to 4029TV (from the Fort Smith, Arkansas area) can immediately be interpreted as suspicious and a nervous character portrait of his wife, Cassie Cotta.
"She`s colorful, she`s irritable, she`s blunt, she`s beautiful, she`s perfect." An odd thing to say, as it is imbued with both a portion of love and a bit of contempt (as I interpret his brazen, off the cuffs comment.) Moreover, Brent had been the one to call Cassie`s mother Friday night and report she hadn`t showed up to work yet (Cassie was a bartender at Perry`s Place).
Bars everywhere are going to be most busy on this New Year`s Eve weekend. So Cassie not showing up to work (when the money probably would be good) is a give away that something was not right. I`ve read also that Cassie was apparently intoxicated last Friday night (Dec. 30th). Who exactly saw her in this state to know it to be true has not been disclosed from local news reports.
It`s said that Cassie`s primary conduit to friends was through Facebook. When the posts to her account went silent Friday, people knew something was wrong. But her car remained at the house she lives in with her husband. The Fort Smith Police Department found some evidence at the home and from Cassie`s car that suggested foul play. The nature of this evidence has not yet been made public.
Since Brent Cotta has been booked for first-degree murder, the evidence must be substantial. It`s also been reported that somehow, it was Brent who led them to the location of Cassie`s body, off Hwy 69. Yet another piece of information we don`t know, is the cause of her death. There were no immediate signs of trauma to her body (as reported by 4029TV.com - Cassie Cotta`s Husband Charged With Murder).
You will want to see the YouTube video Bring Cassie Home!, though it will make you very sad. It seems to have been produced before these latest troubling developments, and this is what makes it all the sadder. Yea, Cassie is very pretty and seems to have had lots of friends and people who liked her. This makes her tragic outcome all the more disturbing.
What was Brent`s motive? Was he intoxicated himself last Friday? JVM`s Issues mentioned something last night about a small altercation Cassie had with someone on Facebook. Could Brent have seen this post then got jealous? This is a possibility! And it sounds as if alcohol may have been a big factor contributing to this unfortunate situation. Please watch the YouTube video (which I`ll link for you here) and try to remember Cassie Cotta in just this way.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Don't know HOW we missed this horrible tragedy! If I had not been on Twitter, would have never seen it! Am doing a google alert for her. So sad!
UPDATE: Brent Cotta Pleads Guilty, Gets 30-Year Sentence In Wife’s Death
August 02, 2012
A Fort Smith man who initially claimed he killed his wife in self-defense was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in Sebastian County Circuit Court.
Brent Dan Cotta, 33, strangled his estranged wife, Cassie Leigh Cotta, 24, on Dec. 30 at their Fort Smith residence, before dumping her body just off of Gun Club Road in Van Buren.
After initially denying any knowledge of her whereabouts when Cassie Cotta’s mother, Pearl Cook, reported her missing to Fort Smith Police on Dec. 31, Brent Cotta eventually confessed, although he claimed he accidentally killed her in self-defense.
In court Thursday, deputy public defender Cash Haaser told Circuit Court Judge James Cox that his client intentionally choked Cassie Cotta to death on Dec. 30.
In his final statement to police shortly after leading investigators to her body, Brent Cotta claimed he unintentionally killed Cassie Cotta after she attacked him with a steak knife and he punched her in the throat.
An autopsy performed at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory determined that Cassie Cotta was strangled to death.
After pleading guilty and before he was sentenced, Cox allowed Pearl Cook and Cassie Cotta’s younger sister, Rachael Cook, to read victim-impact statements in open court.
“I forgive you for what you’ve done and there’s still pain here, but I will continue to pray for you. I will pray that you find God and a way to forgive yourself. I love you and pray for the best,” Rachel Cook said.
Pearl Cook also told Brent Cotta she forgave him and discussed the two dates that stick in her mind as having a huge impact on her life: May 19, 1987, when her daughter Cassie was born, and Jan. 3, 2012, when she learned Brent Cotta had killed Cassie.
“I can go into detail about how this has impacted me physically, how it has impacted my children, my family, her friends and the community, but how do you explain the pain that you now have to live with knowing your child, your daughter, your best friend has been taken from you,” Pearl Cook said.
As he did during all court appearances since his arrest, on Thursday Brent Cotta didn’t look into the court gallery — where Cassie Cotta’s family and friends were sitting — even when he addressed the court and said he felt blessed by Pearl Cook and Rachael Cook when they said they forgive him.
Brent Cotta also said there were no words to describe the sorrow or shame he felt for what happened, adding that he wished things were different.
On April 25, Brent Cotta was sentenced to six years in prison when Cox revoked his suspended sentence handed down March 23, 2011, when Brent Cotta pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic battery, second offense. Cassie Cotta was also the victim in that case.
The sentence imposed Thursday will run concurrently with the six-year term.
Cotta must serve 21 years, 70 percent of his 30-year sentence, before he is eligible for parole.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
A Fort Smith man who initially claimed he killed his wife in self-defense was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in Sebastian County Circuit Court.
Brent Dan Cotta, 33, strangled his estranged wife, Cassie Leigh Cotta, 24, on Dec. 30 at their Fort Smith residence, before dumping her body just off of Gun Club Road in Van Buren.
After initially denying any knowledge of her whereabouts when Cassie Cotta’s mother, Pearl Cook, reported her missing to Fort Smith Police on Dec. 31, Brent Cotta eventually confessed, although he claimed he accidentally killed her in self-defense.
In court Thursday, deputy public defender Cash Haaser told Circuit Court Judge James Cox that his client intentionally choked Cassie Cotta to death on Dec. 30.
In his final statement to police shortly after leading investigators to her body, Brent Cotta claimed he unintentionally killed Cassie Cotta after she attacked him with a steak knife and he punched her in the throat.
An autopsy performed at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory determined that Cassie Cotta was strangled to death.
After pleading guilty and before he was sentenced, Cox allowed Pearl Cook and Cassie Cotta’s younger sister, Rachael Cook, to read victim-impact statements in open court.
“I forgive you for what you’ve done and there’s still pain here, but I will continue to pray for you. I will pray that you find God and a way to forgive yourself. I love you and pray for the best,” Rachel Cook said.
Pearl Cook also told Brent Cotta she forgave him and discussed the two dates that stick in her mind as having a huge impact on her life: May 19, 1987, when her daughter Cassie was born, and Jan. 3, 2012, when she learned Brent Cotta had killed Cassie.
“I can go into detail about how this has impacted me physically, how it has impacted my children, my family, her friends and the community, but how do you explain the pain that you now have to live with knowing your child, your daughter, your best friend has been taken from you,” Pearl Cook said.
As he did during all court appearances since his arrest, on Thursday Brent Cotta didn’t look into the court gallery — where Cassie Cotta’s family and friends were sitting — even when he addressed the court and said he felt blessed by Pearl Cook and Rachael Cook when they said they forgive him.
Brent Cotta also said there were no words to describe the sorrow or shame he felt for what happened, adding that he wished things were different.
On April 25, Brent Cotta was sentenced to six years in prison when Cox revoked his suspended sentence handed down March 23, 2011, when Brent Cotta pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic battery, second offense. Cassie Cotta was also the victim in that case.
The sentence imposed Thursday will run concurrently with the six-year term.
Cotta must serve 21 years, 70 percent of his 30-year sentence, before he is eligible for parole.
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