September 27, 2024 • 9 mins
Brian Cohee Jr.'s case is one of the more chilling examples of extreme violence. In 2021, Cohee, then 19 years old, brutally murdered and dismembered Warren Barnes, a 69-year-old homeless man, in Idaho. After killing Barnes, Cohee took parts of the dismembered body back to his home, where his mother eventually discovered a severed head and hands in his closet. The discovery led to Cohee's arrest, where he calmly admitted to the crime during a police interrogation. He later pleaded insanity, but a psychological evaluation deemed him competent to stand trial. Cohee was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Deep Dive.
(00:01):
Today we're heading to Grand Junction, Colorado.
You know, to unpack a case that is really
going to send chills down your spine,
it's the story of Brian Cohe, Jr., a seemingly regular
teenager who committed, well, a brutal murder,
and then almost casually confessed to the whole thing.
(00:21):
I mean, can you imagine?
Well, and what's so unsettling about this case, right,
beyond the obvious, is how Brian's confession just kind of,
it's like we get to see right into his thought process.
Yeah.
These details that he provides are both disturbing,
but they offer like this glimpse into the mind of someone
who is capable of this horrific crime.
Yeah, it's like peering into this dark corner
(00:42):
that you never even knew existed.
And to think it all began with what
seems like a simple accident.
Brian's parents called the police
because their son's car ended up in the Colorado River.
Right.
I mean, they probably thought he was just
a young, inexperienced driver.
Absolutely, yeah.
A completely understandable assumption.
But you see, as we go down this road,
appearances can be incredibly deceiving.
(01:04):
Yeah.
And in this situation, it was a tiny detail,
just this small detail blood on the car's bumper,
which became the very first clue that something was off,
something much darker was happening here.
You know, it's like, what's that saying?
The devil is in the details.
And this time, it's just, it's chillingly true, you know?
(01:25):
You have to wonder what must have been going
through his parents' minds when the police said, oh, yeah,
there's blood on the bumper.
Yeah.
Like, that's a parent's worst nightmare.
It is.
It is.
Think that your child could be involved
in something that awful.
Absolutely.
And you know, if that's not enough,
just to make this already crazy situation even more complex,
a homeless man named Warren Barnes,
he was reported missing right around the same time.
(01:47):
Oh, wow.
And he was known by everyone.
You know, they said he was a creature of habit.
He always showed up.
He never missed work.
Oh, wow.
So this out-of-character absence immediately
raised red flags.
So you have a missing person seemingly vanished
and a car in the river with what turns out to be blood on it.
I mean, I'd be willing to bet that the police are
(02:09):
starting to think that these events are connected.
They were right to think that.
Because get this, Brian's father,
he finds Warren's wallet in the car.
Oh, my gosh.
And we're not talking about, like, tucked under a seat
or anything.
It was in the glove compartment.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, so you can imagine this sets off alarms, right?
So Brian's mother, understandably panicked.
(02:30):
You know, she goes to search his room.
And what she finds, honestly, it's the stuff of nightmares.
OK, stop right there, because you have to tell me
what could be so terrifying that it would make
this case even more chilling.
Right.
What did Brian's mother find?
She found Warren Barnes' severed head and hands
hidden in her son's closet.
Oh, my god.
(02:51):
Yeah.
That's horrific.
Gruesome discovery, that completely changes
everything, right?
What started as a missing persons case
and maybe an unrelated car accident
now becomes a full blown homicide investigation.
This discovery confirms everyone's worst fears.
And it puts Brian directly in the spotlight
as the prime suspect.
So you're probably at home thinking, all right,
(03:12):
so they found the body parts.
They know who did it.
Case closed.
You'd be surprised.
Yes.
This case takes a turn that I don't think anybody
could have predicted.
It does.
The discovery of Warren's remains.
I mean, that was a huge turning point in the investigation.
Huge.
But what happens next?
That's the mind boggling part.
I know, right?
(03:33):
So the police bring Brian in for questioning.
Right.
They're expecting, you know, the usual denial, silence.
Maybe he'll lawyer up.
Who knows?
Right, exactly, the classic.
But instead of doing any of that, Brian, he just confesses.
I know.
To the whole thing.
He just comes clean.
He describes, and in chilling detail,
everything that happened.
(03:54):
I mean, he even showed them how he stabbed Warren.
Yeah, it's like he's totally detached from what he did.
It's like he's talking about something totally mundane.
Right.
Like he's reading something off a grocery list.
Yeah, and it gets even more disturbing when you find out
what his motivation was.
Oh, I know.
Brian said it was purely out of curiosity.
He said he was obsessed with serial killers.
(04:14):
Oh, no.
Like Ted Bundy, the Zodiac killer.
Yeah.
And he said he just wanted to know
what it would feel like to actually take a life.
It's chilling.
It's like he was playing this sink game.
Holy.
He even told investigators that he
had been planning to kill someone for over a year.
Are you serious?
Yeah, he said he originally he had it out for a prostitute,
(04:36):
but then he chose Warren.
Wow, what does that say about a person?
Yeah.
To be able to spend a whole year planning
to take someone's life.
Right, and for seemingly no reason.
It's like we're getting a glimpse into something much
darker here.
Yeah.
It makes you wonder about mental illness.
Right.
Like were there any warning signs there
that maybe people missed?
(04:56):
Well, you know, we're not psychiatrists or anything.
Right.
But as we get further into Brian's past,
it's clear that there were some patterns of behavior.
Oh, really?
Oh, yeah.
And I'm not talking about just one instance.
We're talking about like consistent, disturbing
behavior.
Like what?
Well, the police uncovered a history of violence,
(05:17):
disturbing jokes, some really disturbing thoughts.
Oh, no.
And get this, Brian's parents, they actually
found a murder kit in his room.
What?
A year before the murder even happened.
Oh, my god.
They knew about it.
And they didn't think that anything was really wrong.
Well, you know, it's their son.
Right.
(05:37):
And it's like, I can't imagine being in that position
where you find that.
Of course.
They had to just downplay it.
They said it was, oh, he's just a teenager.
He's just angsty.
Right.
Teenage angst.
Yeah.
They even tried to blame other people
for their son's actions.
Wow.
That's classic denial.
Yeah, it is.
But it really highlights just how complicated
(05:58):
these cases can be.
Yeah.
How can parents, I mean, how could they
recognize those signs?
Right.
It's a question that we've all kind of asked ourselves
at some point, I'm sure, could something
have been done sooner?
It's a question that just hangs over this entire case,
doesn't it?
It really does.
It really does.
It's easy to get lost in the details of Brian's confession
(06:18):
and all the disturbing stuff about his behavior.
But we can't forget about Warren Barnes.
Right.
Right.
I mean, he was a person too.
He was more than just a victim in this whole thing.
He had a life, dreams, people who cared about him.
Exactly.
He was a regular person, you know?
And his life was cut way too short.
Yeah, he was known for being kind,
(06:39):
for loving to read.
He loved his work.
Oh, wow.
He would go to the library all the time,
spend hours there just looking at the books.
Wow, can you imagine being a librarian there,
seeing this guy every week, and then all of a sudden,
he's just gone?
I know, it's just.
Makes you think, you know, how quickly things can change.
Absolutely.
(06:59):
It was heartbreaking, just a senseless act
that took him away.
Yeah, it's just a reminder of how serious this is.
Taking a life, it affects so many people.
It does.
It's not just about the victim.
It's their friends, their family, everyone.
The whole community.
So what happened to Brian?
Did he face any consequences for what he did?
Oh, yeah.
Brian Cohe Jr., he was found guilty, first degree murder.
(07:22):
He got life in prison, no parole.
Wow.
He's still there now, actually.
Makes you realize, even though he was young, what he did
has lasting impacts, right?
It does.
And it raises all these questions like,
could this have been prevented?
I don't know.
It's a tough one.
You know, all the signs were there.
Right.
The violence, the kit, the things he said.
It's like he was screaming for help, but nobody heard him.
(07:46):
It's just, it's chilling, you know?
And it shows how important it is to really pay
attention to those signs.
Like, you can't just brush them off.
Especially with teenagers.
Right, exactly.
Sometimes it's more than just teenager stuff.
This whole thing, it's really been eye opening.
We've gone deep into a brutal crime.
It has been a lot.
We've looked at what makes a young person become a killer.
(08:08):
And we've seen firsthand how devastating
it is to lose someone you love to violence like this.
Absolutely.
But maybe, just maybe, the most important thing
we can all take away from this is how important
mental health is.
100%.
It's a conversation that we as a society need to have more
often, don't you think?
I agree.
(08:29):
We have to get rid of the stigma around mental health.
Encourage people to get the help they need.
Absolutely, and to build a system that
can actually support them.
Exactly.
So we've covered a lot today.
This whole thing about youth violence, mental health,
how we can prevent these tragedies.
It's heavy stuff.
Yeah.
But if it's made you stop and think, then I think, you know,
(08:51):
we've done what we set out to do.
We can't bring Warren Barnes back.
No.
But maybe, just maybe, we can learn from this.
Maybe we can make the world a little bit better,
a little more understanding, and prevent something like this
from happening again.
I hope so.
That's what it's all about, right?
It really is.
Well, that was a tough one.
(09:11):
Thanks for joining us on this deep dive.
It's been really something else.
Yeah, thank you for having me.
Until next time, stay curious out there, stay informed,
and stay engaged.
Welcome to the Deep Dive.
(00:01):
Today we're heading to Grand Junction, Colorado.
You know, to unpack a case that is really
going to send chills down your spine,
it's the story of Brian Cohe, Jr., a seemingly regular
teenager who committed, well, a brutal murder,
and then almost casually confessed to the whole thing.
(00:21):
I mean, can you imagine?
Well, and what's so unsettling about this case, right,
beyond the obvious, is how Brian's confession just kind of,
it's like we get to see right into his thought process.
Yeah.
These details that he provides are both disturbing,
but they offer like this glimpse into the mind of someone
who is capable of this horrific crime.
Yeah, it's like peering into this dark corner
(00:42):
that you never even knew existed.
And to think it all began with what
seems like a simple accident.
Brian's parents called the police
because their son's car ended up in the Colorado River.
Right.
I mean, they probably thought he was just
a young, inexperienced driver.
Absolutely, yeah.
A completely understandable assumption.
But you see, as we go down this road,
appearances can be incredibly deceiving.
(01:04):
Yeah.
And in this situation, it was a tiny detail,
just this small detail blood on the car's bumper,
which became the very first clue that something was off,
something much darker was happening here.
You know, it's like, what's that saying?
The devil is in the details.
And this time, it's just, it's chillingly true, you know?
(01:25):
You have to wonder what must have been going
through his parents' minds when the police said, oh, yeah,
there's blood on the bumper.
Yeah.
Like, that's a parent's worst nightmare.
It is.
It is.
Think that your child could be involved
in something that awful.
Absolutely.
And you know, if that's not enough,
just to make this already crazy situation even more complex,
a homeless man named Warren Barnes,
he was reported missing right around the same time.
(01:47):
Oh, wow.
And he was known by everyone.
You know, they said he was a creature of habit.
He always showed up.
He never missed work.
Oh, wow.
So this out-of-character absence immediately
raised red flags.
So you have a missing person seemingly vanished
and a car in the river with what turns out to be blood on it.
I mean, I'd be willing to bet that the police are
(02:09):
starting to think that these events are connected.
They were right to think that.
Because get this, Brian's father,
he finds Warren's wallet in the car.
Oh, my gosh.
And we're not talking about, like, tucked under a seat
or anything.
It was in the glove compartment.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, so you can imagine this sets off alarms, right?
So Brian's mother, understandably panicked.
(02:30):
You know, she goes to search his room.
And what she finds, honestly, it's the stuff of nightmares.
OK, stop right there, because you have to tell me
what could be so terrifying that it would make
this case even more chilling.
Right.
What did Brian's mother find?
She found Warren Barnes' severed head and hands
hidden in her son's closet.
Oh, my god.
(02:51):
Yeah.
That's horrific.
Gruesome discovery, that completely changes
everything, right?
What started as a missing persons case
and maybe an unrelated car accident
now becomes a full blown homicide investigation.
This discovery confirms everyone's worst fears.
And it puts Brian directly in the spotlight
as the prime suspect.
So you're probably at home thinking, all right,
(03:12):
so they found the body parts.
They know who did it.
Case closed.
You'd be surprised.
Yes.
This case takes a turn that I don't think anybody
could have predicted.
It does.
The discovery of Warren's remains.
I mean, that was a huge turning point in the investigation.
Huge.
But what happens next?
That's the mind boggling part.
I know, right?
(03:33):
So the police bring Brian in for questioning.
Right.
They're expecting, you know, the usual denial, silence.
Maybe he'll lawyer up.
Who knows?
Right, exactly, the classic.
But instead of doing any of that, Brian, he just confesses.
I know.
To the whole thing.
He just comes clean.
He describes, and in chilling detail,
everything that happened.
(03:54):
I mean, he even showed them how he stabbed Warren.
Yeah, it's like he's totally detached from what he did.
It's like he's talking about something totally mundane.
Right.
Like he's reading something off a grocery list.
Yeah, and it gets even more disturbing when you find out
what his motivation was.
Oh, I know.
Brian said it was purely out of curiosity.
He said he was obsessed with serial killers.
(04:14):
Oh, no.
Like Ted Bundy, the Zodiac killer.
Yeah.
And he said he just wanted to know
what it would feel like to actually take a life.
It's chilling.
It's like he was playing this sink game.
Holy.
He even told investigators that he
had been planning to kill someone for over a year.
Are you serious?
Yeah, he said he originally he had it out for a prostitute,
(04:36):
but then he chose Warren.
Wow, what does that say about a person?
Yeah.
To be able to spend a whole year planning
to take someone's life.
Right, and for seemingly no reason.
It's like we're getting a glimpse into something much
darker here.
Yeah.
It makes you wonder about mental illness.
Right.
Like were there any warning signs there
that maybe people missed?
(04:56):
Well, you know, we're not psychiatrists or anything.
Right.
But as we get further into Brian's past,
it's clear that there were some patterns of behavior.
Oh, really?
Oh, yeah.
And I'm not talking about just one instance.
We're talking about like consistent, disturbing
behavior.
Like what?
Well, the police uncovered a history of violence,
(05:17):
disturbing jokes, some really disturbing thoughts.
Oh, no.
And get this, Brian's parents, they actually
found a murder kit in his room.
What?
A year before the murder even happened.
Oh, my god.
They knew about it.
And they didn't think that anything was really wrong.
Well, you know, it's their son.
Right.
(05:37):
And it's like, I can't imagine being in that position
where you find that.
Of course.
They had to just downplay it.
They said it was, oh, he's just a teenager.
He's just angsty.
Right.
Teenage angst.
Yeah.
They even tried to blame other people
for their son's actions.
Wow.
That's classic denial.
Yeah, it is.
But it really highlights just how complicated
(05:58):
these cases can be.
Yeah.
How can parents, I mean, how could they
recognize those signs?
Right.
It's a question that we've all kind of asked ourselves
at some point, I'm sure, could something
have been done sooner?
It's a question that just hangs over this entire case,
doesn't it?
It really does.
It really does.
It's easy to get lost in the details of Brian's confession
(06:18):
and all the disturbing stuff about his behavior.
But we can't forget about Warren Barnes.
Right.
Right.
I mean, he was a person too.
He was more than just a victim in this whole thing.
He had a life, dreams, people who cared about him.
Exactly.
He was a regular person, you know?
And his life was cut way too short.
Yeah, he was known for being kind,
(06:39):
for loving to read.
He loved his work.
Oh, wow.
He would go to the library all the time,
spend hours there just looking at the books.
Wow, can you imagine being a librarian there,
seeing this guy every week, and then all of a sudden,
he's just gone?
I know, it's just.
Makes you think, you know, how quickly things can change.
Absolutely.
(06:59):
It was heartbreaking, just a senseless act
that took him away.
Yeah, it's just a reminder of how serious this is.
Taking a life, it affects so many people.
It does.
It's not just about the victim.
It's their friends, their family, everyone.
The whole community.
So what happened to Brian?
Did he face any consequences for what he did?
Oh, yeah.
Brian Cohe Jr., he was found guilty, first degree murder.
(07:22):
He got life in prison, no parole.
Wow.
He's still there now, actually.
Makes you realize, even though he was young, what he did
has lasting impacts, right?
It does.
And it raises all these questions like,
could this have been prevented?
I don't know.
It's a tough one.
You know, all the signs were there.
Right.
The violence, the kit, the things he said.
It's like he was screaming for help, but nobody heard him.
(07:46):
It's just, it's chilling, you know?
And it shows how important it is to really pay
attention to those signs.
Like, you can't just brush them off.
Especially with teenagers.
Right, exactly.
Sometimes it's more than just teenager stuff.
This whole thing, it's really been eye opening.
We've gone deep into a brutal crime.
It has been a lot.
We've looked at what makes a young person become a killer.
(08:08):
And we've seen firsthand how devastating
it is to lose someone you love to violence like this.
Absolutely.
But maybe, just maybe, the most important thing
we can all take away from this is how important
mental health is.
100%.
It's a conversation that we as a society need to have more
often, don't you think?
I agree.
(08:29):
We have to get rid of the stigma around mental health.
Encourage people to get the help they need.
Absolutely, and to build a system that
can actually support them.
Exactly.
So we've covered a lot today.
This whole thing about youth violence, mental health,
how we can prevent these tragedies.
It's heavy stuff.
Yeah.
But if it's made you stop and think, then I think, you know,
(08:51):
we've done what we set out to do.
We can't bring Warren Barnes back.
No.
But maybe, just maybe, we can learn from this.
Maybe we can make the world a little bit better,
a little more understanding, and prevent something like this
from happening again.
I hope so.
That's what it's all about, right?
It really is.
Well, that was a tough one.
(09:11):
Thanks for joining us on this deep dive.
It's been really something else.
Yeah, thank you for having me.
Until next time, stay curious out there, stay informed,
and stay engaged.
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