Leake County, MS: Sheriff: Leake County Man Admits To Killing Wife

Donna Cochran Found Dead Inside Family Business

LEAKE COUNTY, Miss. -- After a two-month investigation, the Leake County Sheriff's Office says Mike Cochran admitted to police that he killed his wife, Donna.

Donna Cochran's father-in-law found her body Aug. 12 behind a desk at the family business, D and M Saddles and Tack in the Free Trade community near Highway 488, Leake County Sheriff Greg Waggoner said.

On Tuesday, Mike Cochran admitted during an interview with investigators that he killed his wife of at least 20 years, Waggoner said. Cochran was arrested by the Leake County Sheriff's Office in cooperation with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

"He stated he got in an argument about financial problems that went over a period of time and it just got out of control," Waggoner said.

Donna Cochran

Investigators initially thought Donna Cochran, 44, had been shot to death during a robbery, and an $11,000 reward was offered in connection with the case.

Waggoner said Mike Cochran told investigators that he staged the robbery to cover up his wife's slaying.

"Once he realized what he had done, he covered it up to make it look like a robbery and threw coins around and stuck money in his pocket," Waggoner said.

Mike Cochran was being held Wednesday on a $1 million bond at the Leake County Correctional Facility.