Who is Michael Cochran and what happened to him? Details explored ahead of 20/20 on ABC

ABC 20/20 is back with a new episode where they investigate the murder of Michael Cochran, a computer specialist and a businessman from Beckley, West Virginia.

The true crime episode will air on Friday, February 14, 2025, on ABC and will be available for streaming on Hulu the next day. Hosts David Muir and Deborah Roberts will report on the murder of 38-year-old Michael Cochran, who was killed by his wife, Natalie Cochran, in February 2019.

Michael Cochran, a West Virginia computer specialist, married his childhood lover, Natalie, during college. Natalie was a pharmacist. In addition to their jobs, the couple owned a defense contracting business, and as the business flourished, it changed their lives for good.

However, everything was not as good as it seemed, as it was later found that Michael’s wife, Natalie, was running a Ponzi scheme worth $2 million and deceived friends and families. Other than that, she also murdered her husband so that he wouldn't know about her fraudulent activities.

Continue to read to learn more about ABC 20/20's new true crime story about the murder of Michael Cochran.

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What happened to Michael Cochran?

As previously mentioned, Michael Cochran was a 38-year-old from Beckley, West Virginia. He married his childhood lover Natalie and had two kids. The couple lived a good life, with both of them having good jobs and a thriving business. However, it was later found to be a fraud scheme.

Investigations into Michael’s murder revealed that it was a Ponzi scheme run by his wife Natalie, who had deceived their investors of millions of dollars. She posed as a government contractor who owned two businesses which made people believe her and invest money. However, she never planned on investing the money and ended up buying luxury items like jewelry and real estate.

Furthermore, to hide this crime, she committed another crime.

As her husband was getting suspicious about the money, she injected him with non-prescribed insulin, which resulted in his death five days later.

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Natalie Cochran was convicted of poisoning her husband, Michael Cochran.

Natalie Cochran was found to be running a Ponzi scheme from 2017 to 2019 and poisoned her husband, Michael Cochran, to hide it from him.

She was initially charged with first-degree murder in November 2021, but the prosecutors wanted Michael’s body to be further examined by forensic pathologists.

On January 29, 2025, Natalie was finally charged with her husband Michael’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole by Raleigh County Circuit Court.

The ABC 20/20 episode will investigate the whole case regarding Michael Cochran’s murder with interviews from friends and families, including the investors who were defrauded of their money by Natalie Cochran.

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The new ABC 20/20 episode will air on February 14, 2025, and stream on Hulu the next day.