Patricia Cogdell was waiting in the passenger seat of a car for Robert Cogdell to retrieve her walker when the couple was shot a combined 13 times in separate areas of their Conway home more than a year ago, a witness testified during a court hearing Tuesday.
The July 21, 2015, deaths of the Cogdells, both 66, have not yet produced a criminal trial. On Tuesday, a scheduled four-day hearing began to determine whether the trial of one of four teenagers accused in their deaths should be sent to juvenile court.
Hunter Drexler, who was 17 at the time of the killings, is charged with two counts of capital murder and other felonies. His attorney seeks to move the case from circuit court, where Drexler is charged as an adult, to the juvenile system, where he would likely face a less-severe sentence if convicted.
Defense attorney Patrick Benca called eight witnesses Tuesday and introduced more than 40 pieces of evidence as the groundwork for what he called the most complicated juvenile-transfer hearing he's presented.
"I'm not used to introducing this much evidence," Benca said when Faulkner County Circuit Judge Troy Braswell sought to make sure the items were properly cataloged.
Braswell agreed Tuesday to let the public and the news media attend the court hearing. He had ruled late Monday that the hearing would be closed, citing the need to protect the constitutional right to a fair trial for the defendant and the state.
A court bailiff allowed the public to enter the courtroom Tuesday morning in time for the first witness.
Benca had asked that his juvenile-transfer motion be sealed, and Benca said the judge had assumed the motion also was aimed at keeping the hearing closed. Benca said outside court that he wanted it open.
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Hugh Finkelstein said the state did not take a position on that issue.
Braswell will determine whether to transfer Drexler's case to juvenile court. Arkansas Code 9-27-318 lays out at least nine factors Braswell must consider in making the ruling, including the "seriousness of the alleged offense," whether it was premeditated, Drexler's culpability in committing or planning the offense, his previous juvenile history and whether there are programs in place to rehabilitate the defendant before his 21st birthday.
"It all goes back to role," Benca said during a recess Tuesday evening. Benca said Drexler has consistently denied firing any shots when the Cogdells were killed.
Without a jury present, Drexler on Tuesday wore white-and-black striped scrubs with the words "not guilty" printed in black ink on the back of his top. His hands and feet were cuffed, and he occasionally leaned his weight on his elbows near scattered paperwork on the defense table.
In Circuit Court, Drexler, now 19, could face a maximum sentence of life without parole if convicted, though his attorney has asked the judge to exclude that potential sentence. Because Drexler was younger than 18 at the time of the crime, he cannot face the death penalty if he is convicted.
Two other teenagers -- Justin Staton, now 15, and Connor Atchley, now 18, of Greenbrier -- have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and other offenses in the Cogdells' deaths and received lengthy prison sentences.
A fourth defendant, Anastasia Roberts, now 18, of Conway, is awaiting trial on two counts each of first-degree murder and theft by receiving. All four teenagers were charged as adults.
Staton lived with the Cogdells, who had been his legal guardians since 2010. The Cogdells had raised Staton as a grandson even after genetic testing proved their son was not Staton's biological father.
Staton, Atchley and Roberts have been subpoenaed as potential witnesses. Benca said he's not sure if he will call them as witnesses.
Benca told Braswell on Tuesday that he intends to call eight witnesses today and seven Thursday.
Conway police Lt. Mike Edgmon testified Tuesday that after he arrived at the Cogdells' house, he saw two small-caliber rifles lying inside the garage. Another police officer testified about finding a car in the garage with a broken passenger-side window.
With so much blood in the house but no bodies there, Edgmon began surveying the area outside, he said. He saw a hat on the ground, walked around it and kept looking until he saw the woman's body near a fence in a wooded area. A short distance away, he noticed a rolled-up rug.
Robert Cogdell's body was inside, he said.
"I saw the feet sticking out of the carpet," Edgmon testified.
A third officer, Jeremy Holliman, said he collected five shell casings in the garage. Police believe Patricia Cogdell was shot as she sat in a car.
Stephen Erickson, deputy chief medical examiner for the state Crime Laboratory, said he determined Patricia Cogdell was shot seven times. Each of the bullets entered her right side, and each struck a "major vital" organ, Erickson said.
Pieces of glass were found on Patricia Cogdell's clothes and embedded in her skin, Erickson said.
Erickson testified that a report investigators submitted to him prior to the autopsies says Patricia Cogdell was waiting in the car's passenger seat for Robert Cogdell to retrieve her walker from inside.
Robert Cogdell, who was listed at 6 feet, 4 inches tall, suffered six gunshot wounds, Erickson said. He was struck in his abdomen, upper right shoulder, right eyebrow, right ear, lower right eyelid and left cheek with small-caliber bullets.
The shots to Robert Cogdell's ear and eyebrow were "serious, fatal" gunshot wounds, Erickson said. It's possible Robert Cogdell could have survived the other four gunshots, the medical examiner testified.
The sequence of the shots and Robert Cogdell's positioning when they were fired is not clear, Erickson testified.
The hearing is scheduled to resume at 10:30 a.m. today.
Information for this article was contributed by Debra Hale-Shelton of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
State Desk on 10/19/2016