Alexandria police discovered the remains of 44-year-old Joshua Cochran in his neighbor’s closet on Tuesday after he went missing over the weekend. Authorities reported Cochran suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
The family stated they did not initially suspect he had died when he stopped answering his phone. Michelle Cochran, the victim’s sister-in-law, said, “When we stopped hearing from him, we knew pretty quickly something was up.” She added, “It was certainly the farthest thing from our mind that that would happen.”
Surveillance video showed Cochran went out drinking on Saturday with John Stremple III, a 63-year-old registered sex offender. The family noted they did not know Stremple but described it as typical for Cochran to befriend strangers. “In chatting with a couple of friends, I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be so on-brand for Josh to, like, have befriended the old guy in the complex?’ Like, that was just him,” Michelle Cochran recalled.
Police knocked on Stremple’s door and he immediately confessed. “When our detectives knocked on the door, they were just following up on the leads that had been established,” police said. “And when they opened that door, the suspect gave an immediate confession.”
Stremple was charged with second-degree murder. Michelle Cochran confirmed her brother-in-law moved to Alexandria to be closer to his 8-year-old son.
