FAYETTEVILLE -- A Springdale man accused of killing a young woman in 2006 was set free Wednesday morning after his capital-murder charge was dropped.
Rico Tavarous Cohn, 29, walked out of the Washington County jail at 9:38 a.m. Wednesday, sheriff's office spokesman Kelly Cantrell wrote in a message. Cohn spent three years in jail after being charged in 2012 in the death of Bethany "Nina" June Ingram, a 21-year-old Northwest Arkansas Community College student.
Ingram's brother found her April 22, 2006, strangled on her bed in her apartment on Sycamore Street in Fayetteville, according to police records.
"When is Nina going to get justice?" Ingram's mother, Judy, asked Wednesday.
Cohn's attorney Tony Pirani didn't immediately respond to calls or emails. Online messages left for Cohn and his family also weren't immediately returned.
Prosecutors lacked evidence after a key witness died earlier this year and were forced to drop the charge, prosecutor Matt Durrett said Wednesday. The case had "insufficient evidence," according to a court order.
The witness who died was "vital" to proceeding with the case, Durrett said. The woman told police that Cohn told her about the murder, he said.
"The witness that passed away told police that [Cohn] admitted to her that he did it," Durrett said. "[Cohn] gave her details that matched the crime scene and had been previously unreleased."
Other witnesses corroborated the "star witness," Durrett said. Durrett wouldn't release the name of that witness.
The witness died unexpectedly after a surgery, Durrett said. No foul play is suspected, he said.
Cohn's trial was set for August, after many postponements for defense attorneys to have evidence tested, Durrett said.
Once the main witness died about two months ago, prosecutors were left with "nothing," Judy Ingram said.
She held a news conference Wednesday afternoon at Living Faith Church -- the Fayetteville church where Nina Ingram's funeral was held. Judy Ingram said she has waited nine years and is still fighting for justice for Nina.
Prosecutors had no fingerprints and "barely any" DNA evidence in the case, Judy Ingram said. There was no choice but to let Cohn go after the witness died, she said.
Police opened the cold case in 2012 after receiving a tip that led to a witness who was a "close friend" of Cohn's, according to records. Three witnesses, all unnamed, are listed in the 2012 affidavit with two witnesses telling police that Cohn told them he killed a woman in Fayetteville.
One witness told police that Cohn "admitted he killed Nina with his own two hands," according to the report.
Police believed Nina Ingram's death was a planned burglary and assault that resulted in her murder, the record shows.
Police said they believed that Nina Ingram was killed because she rebuffed Cohn and others who made inappropriate comments to her as she left her apartment five days before her death, according to records. One witness told police that Cohn was upset because Nina Ingram thought she was too good for him. Cohn felt that Nina Ingram had been "disrespectful," according to records.
Cohn has repeatedly denied killing her.
Doctors at the Arkansas State Hospital found no indication that Cohn suffered from mental impairment or mental disease, and they determined that he was fit to stand trial.
"The state is accusing me of breaking and entering, and strangling someone to death, which is totally untrue," Cohn is quoted as telling doctors. "I do feel for what their family is going through, but their pain was not caused by me."
The case against Cohn is closed, Durrett said. Police will continue to investigate, said Craig Stout, Fayetteville police spokesman.
Police and Judy Ingram said they hope new evidence will turn up and charges can be refiled. Judy Ingram said she hopes someone else will step forward because justice hasn't been served.
"I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for closure," she said. "This is not the closure I wanted."
Metro on 07/05/2015