5 Minute Mystery - The Murder of Charles and Betty Cottrell

Sometime during the night of Monday, November 15, 1971, in the Fort Hill section of Charleston, West Virginia, Dr. Charles Cotrell and his wife Betty were shot in the den of their home. Many believe the answer to the question of who killed the Cotrells came 6 days later when the Cotrell's son, Charles Jr., died in a deliberate auto accident. Others, however, are not so sure.



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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One crime at a time presents five minute mystery. Some
time during the night of Monday, November fifteenth, nineteen seventy one,
in the Fort Hill section of Charleston, West Virginia, doctor
Charles Cotrell and his wife Betty were shot in the
den of their home. Many believed the answer to the
question of who killed the Cotrells came six days later,

(00:20):
when the Cotrell's son, Charles Junior, died in a deliberate
auto accident. Others, however, are not so sure. At six
thirty in the morning of November sixteenth, the Cotrelle's daughter
Teresa found the bodies of her mother and stepfather. Charles
Cotrell lay sprawled out on the floor just in front
of the fireplace, and her mother was sitting limply on

(00:41):
the couch. Both were covered in blood and had been
shot multiple times. Police considered the possibility of a robbery
gone wrong. However, no other valuables, many of them in
plain sight, had been touched. There were no obvious signs
of a struggle other than an overturned chair and disconnected
phone cable. The police could find no sign of forced entry,

(01:03):
although a rear sliding door to the home was found
to be Ajar. Autopsies revealed that the murder weapon had
been a twenty two caliber handgun. Police learned that a
twenty two caliber handgun had been kept in the Coatrell's
home and that it was now missing. The gun was
kept on a peg board in Charles Junior's bedroom. This
weapon was never found. Police learned the family had had

(01:26):
dinner at a restaurant in town, with Betty and Teresa
arriving back home around eight thirty. Doctor Cotrell had left
dinner and went to the hospital to check on some patients.
Police estimated that doctor Cotrell arrived back at his home
just before ten thirty p m. He spoke with two
patients on the phone shortly after arriving home. These two
calls to be the last time Charles and Betty Cochrell

(01:48):
were confirmed to have been alive. The Kochrell's daughter, Teresa,
stated that she had gone to bed at nine thirty
p m. And said she heard nothing during the night.
Near by residence reported neither hearing nor seeing anything unusual
during the overnight hours. Theresa did say she found it
strange that the next morning she found the door to

(02:09):
charles juniors room open, even though it was normally kept closed.
Police also interviewed doctor Cotrell's son and daughter from his
first marriage. Both were away at college, Charles Junior in Morgantown,
West Virginia, and Susan in Pittsburgh. The detectives later reported
that when they first spoke to Charles Junior at the home,

(02:30):
they found his demeanor somewhat unusual and his answers to
some of their questions evasive. Friends of Charles junior s
were interviewed, and at least one acquaintance stated that there
was tension between Charles Junior, his father and stepmother concerning
his relationship with his on again, off again girlfriend. On Thursday,
November eighteenth, nineteen seventy one, Charles Junior was interviewed by

(02:55):
Charleston police. He stated that on the night of the murders,
he was at his apartment with a friend until about
eight or eight thirty p m. He then left the
apartment and decided to drive to Glenville to visit another friend.
He traveled south on Interstate seventy nine until he reached
the exit that leads to US Highway fifty. He then
decided he no longer wanted to visit his friend and

(03:17):
turned to head back to Morgantown. At the U S
fifty exit, he picked up a hitchhiker who introduced himself
as Bill. Bill wanted to go to Pittsburgh and Charles
Junior agreed to take him on the way. They stopped
in Morgantown and bought beer. He stated he dropped Bill
off at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport. He started back to
Morgantown and before leaving the Pittsburgh area, became lost. He

(03:40):
made it home, but his approximate arrival is not noted,
only that it had to have been some time after
ten thirty p m. When he had stopped for beer.
After the interview, Charles Junior took four polygraph exams. The
first two tests detected deception when asked have you fired
a pistol in the last week, replied no. The examiner

(04:02):
re ordered some of the questions and the last two
tests detected deception when Charles replied no to the question
were you and Charleston between the hours of ten p
m And two am. It was discovered that Charles had
consumed four prescribed tranquilizers at once just prior to arriving
at the police station, effectively making the four tests useless.

(04:26):
In the following days, Charles changed the beneficiary of his
life insurance policy from his father to his girlfriend and
wrote out his own will. On the morning of November
twenty one, nineteen seventy one, Charles Junior was to return
to Charleston from Ohio, where he was with his sister Sharon.
As he drove down Ohio Route three oh eight, his

(04:46):
car crashed head on into a tree, killing him on impact.
It was determined that the car had been driven into
the tree on purpose. Authorities believed that, under suspicion and
racked by guilt, he had taken his own life. To some,
this was as good as a confession. However, in the
following weeks, police would say the investigation was not closed,

(05:09):
and that is where it has been for the last
fifty plus years. Was Charles Cotrell Junior guilty of murder?
Let us know what you think in the comments. Thank
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