Misc. cases I

[Jezreel]

I have been somewhat following this case.... sad story of domestic violence. Cassie was young, beautiful and seemed to be loved by a lot of people.

A Fort Smith man accused of killing his wife pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday in Sebastian County Circuit Court.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Fitzhugh appointed the public defender’s office to represent Brent Dan Cotta, 33, and set his bond at $500,000 cash at the request of Prosecuting Attorney Dan Shue.
Brent Cotta confessed to killing Cassie Leigh Cotta, 24, after being confronted with “inconsistent stories that (investigators were) able to disprove,” according to an affidavit for probable cause signed by detective Adam Creek, Fort Smith police.
Cotta then took investigators to his wife’s body, which was recovered Tuesday afternoon off Gun Club Road in Crawford County, which is accessible from Arkansas 59 near Lock and Dam 13 on the north side of the Arkansas River, according to the affidavit.
When Fitzhugh asked Shue to state grounds for the $500,000 bond request, Shue cited “a statement” on cause of death that was consistent with physical evidence collected by investigators, the fact the body was concealed and Brent Cotta’s prior history of domestic violence toward Cassie Cotta.
Brent Cotta pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of third-degree domestic battery on March 21 in Sebastian County District Court and one felony count of third-degree domestic battery, second offense, on March 23 in circuit court. Cassie Cotta was the victim in both cases.
The misdemeanor count involved a Oct. 7, 2010, altercation, when a neighbor of the couple told Fort Smith police she heard someone beating on her front door, and when she opened it Cassie Cotta was lying on the ground and Brent Cotta was walking away, according to a police report.
When police arrived, Brent Cotta was attempting to leave the area in a black vehicle, and when police told him to step out of the car, Brent Cotta told the responding officer he was going to have to shoot him before he ultimately complied with the officer’s orders, according to the police report.
Cassie Cotta told police she and Brent Cotta had been downtown earlier in the evening, but he came home before her.
When she arrived at the couple’s apartment, Cassie Cotta said, Brent Cotta was standing outside before he kicked open the front door and went to bed.
When Cassie Cotta started to get in bed, Brent Cotta pulled her out of bed by her hair, pulled her around by an earring in her right ear and then began choking her, according to a police report.
Brent Cotta then tore off her shirt and told her he would kill her before he would allow her to leave, although she eventually made it outside, Cassie Cotta told police.
Brent Cotta was heavily intoxicated and kept repeating he was sorry before he was taken into custody, according to a police report.
When he pleaded guilty in district court on March 21, Brent Cotta was given a one-year suspended sentence and was ordered to enroll in the Domestic Violence Intervention Program.
The felony count involved a March 6 arrest when police responded to a domestic-disturbance call at the couple’s apartment.
Cassie Cotta told police she and Brent Cotta were arguing when he pushed her in the chest with both hands, causing her to fall backward and hit her head against a dresser.
Cassie Cotta said he also attacked her the previous day, holding her on the ground with his hands around her neck and dragging her across the floor, according to a police report.
Brent Cotta initially told police he didn’t remember what happened, before saying he remembered an argument that turned physical and conceded it was possible that he choked Cassie Cotta, according to a police report.
The report also noted that Brent Cotta had scratches on his back and chest, although he declined to say how he received them.
Once Brent Cotta was placed in a patrol car, he claimed Cassie Cotta attacked him with a knife — causing the scratches on his chest and back — and he only defended himself, according to a police report.
However, Elizabeth Farmer, the couple’s roommate at the time, told police she never saw Cassie Cotta with a knife.
The prosecutor’s office has filed a petition to revoke Brent Cotta’s suspended sentences on the battery charges.
Cassie Cotta, who like her husband regularly posted on Facebook, in response to a question from a friend on March 6, posted, “Well, there’s no wedding, baby. Brent and I are over. Love you.”
When he pleaded guilty in circuit court on March 23, Brent Cotta was given a five-year suspended sentence.
Later that morning, Brent Cotta posted on Facebook, “Got into some trouble, plead out this morning and moving on with my live!” (sic) in response to a question from a friend.
Prior to Brent Cotta’s arrests in October and March, Cassie Cotta filed a domestic-abuse complaint with police in September, but the case was closed when police were unable to locate her to follow up on the report.
Cassie Cotta said as she and Brent Cotta argued, he pulled her across their living room by her hair before choking her, according to a police report.
A little more than three months after posting on Facebook that “Brent and I are over,” the couple married in Crawford County on June 17.
On Saturday, a little more than six months after the couple married, Cassie Cotta’s mother, Pearl Cook, filed a missing person report with Fort Smith police.
Cook told police Brent Cotta last saw her daughter about 10 p.m. Friday and Cassie Cotta failed to show up for work at Perry’s Place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to a police report.
Cook said Brent Cotta told her Cassie Cotta said she was going to a party in Alma when he last spoke to her, according to the report.
Cassie Cotta last posted on Facebook at 10:53 p.m. Friday, telling a friend her phone was almost dead and “call tomorrow and hang?”
A little less than four hours later at 2:38 a.m. on Saturday, Brent Cotta posted a lengthy poem on Facebook that in part read: “Forgive me and please stop leaving; slow down and please believe me; I need you and you need me; always and forever; forever and always; we belong together ...”
The poem was posted after investigators believe Brent Cotta killed his wife, according to court documents.
On Monday and Tuesday, Brent Cotta made several posts thanking people for their support and asking for prayer; a little more than 90 minutes after he led investigators to his wife’s body, Brent Cotta posted “Love her,” while in police custody.
Both Shue and Sgt. Daniel Grubbs, Fort Smith police public information officer, said Wednesday they were prohibited from providing any details about Brent Cotta’s statements to investigators beyond the probable cause affidavit and what was stated in court.
Cassie Cotta’s body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy, but there were no signs of “obvious trauma” on her body, Grubbs said Tuesday.
First-degree murder is a Class Y felony punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison.
http://www.swtimes.com/news/article_49a1...3ce6c.html

Also there is a video at this link with the husband as he joined the search for his 'missing' wife, just hours before confessing to killing her
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcflRQiql9I


ETA: according to his google+ profile he is a father of 3, poor kids knowing what their Daddy did :(