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Suspected Indiana serial killer, possible cannibalism focus of true crime doc

Kelly Cochran has been sentenced to killing her husband and lover, but her family says there's much more to the story.
Kelly M. Cochran (Photo: Lake County Sheriff's Office)

Last month, 34-year-old Kelly M. Cochran was sentenced to 65 years behind bars, after admitting to injecting her husband with a fatal dose of heroin and smothering him in their northern Indiana home.

The court's decision came as Cochran was serving a life sentence in another case: the slaying and dismembering of her lover in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

As shocking as those crimes are, an upcoming TV documentary will look into other crimes that her friends and family suspect Cochran of committing. That includes as many as nine other possible victims buried across the Midwest, as well as accusations that she fed the remains of her lover to others at a barbecue.

Titled "Dead North," the two-part documentary will air at 9 p.m. May 28 and May 29 on Investigation Discovery. It will recap Cochran's story through the eyes of former Iron River (Mich.) Police Chief Laura Frizzo, who first got pulled into the case in October 2014 after Chris Regan went missing.

According to Lake County, Ind., court documents, Frizzo first met her potential suspects, husband and wife Jason Cochran and Kelly Cochran, when she began investigating Regan's disappearance. Kelly Cochran had been having an affair with Regan and may have been the last person to see him.

The case went cold until February 2016, when Jason Cochran died of a suspected overdose in Hobart. However, an investigation revealed he had been murdered.

Cochran later admitted she was a participant in the killing of Regan, as she and Jason had a pact to "kill off" anyone involved in their extramarital affairs. Court documents said the Cochrans lured Regan to their home, shot him, dismembered his body and dumped it in the woods.

Cochran said she murdered her husband in revenge for Regan's killing, according to court documents. She told a police investigator that she injected her husband with heroin and then smothered him.

Kelly Cochran was sentenced to life in prison for Regan's murder in May 2017. After pleading guilty, Cochran was sentenced on April 18 for her husband's murder.

But a news release from Investigation Discovery says that as the two cases were being adjudicated, Kelly Cochran's brother came forth out of fear that his sister is a serial killer.

The news release said that while Kelly Cochran explained that most of Regan's remains had been dismembered, her neighbors believe may have been served some of his remains at a barbecue.

"The toll of this case on Frizzo's career (is) significant. Despite disagreements with the Iron River City Manager regarding her 'bullheaded' investigation style, Frizzo remains adamant that the case isn't closed," says the Investigation Discovery news release. "The City Manager relieves Frizzo of her duties just as Kelly admits to having other 'friends' buried in Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee and Minnesota; however, the identities and specific locations of these bodies remain a mystery to this day."

Officials said "Dead North" takes viewers through both cases with the use of extensive body-cam footage and interrogation room conversations, and ends what they call a "Fargo-like tale" with a face-off between Cochran and Frizzo.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.

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