Death Asked in East Point Slaying

   The state Monday demanded the death penalty for a 42-year-old East Point man in the Sept. 16 slaying of his former wife.
   In an opening statement to a Fulton Superior Court jury, Asst. Sol. Gen. Tom Luck charged the man, Henry Grady Cochran, 2179 Stanton Cir., East Point, shot his wife because he did not want to support his children.
   Det. Lt. H. Y. Stanley, first state witness, said Mrs. Cochran was shot twice through the head with a .22 caliber pistol as she sat in a car in front of her husband's residence.
   "I shot her ... I didn't mean to kill her. I guess I lost my head," he quoted Cochran.
   Roy Bradford of 50 Washington St., SW, a friend of Mrs. Cochran, had accompanied her to the ex-husband's residence.
   Bradford said Cochran came out to the car and talked to Mrs. Cochran. Then, he added, they "got to talking about the kids" and engaged in what Bradford described as a "friendly argument." He said they were discussing the feeding and clothing of the children.
   Mrs. Cochran told her husband she was leaving, started the car and put it into reverse gear, he said. Then, the witness explained, Cochran said: "You ain't going nowhere at all. I'm going to kill you:" Then he fired the pistol through the window, Bradford related.

[The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 06 Nov 1956, Tue, Page 20]

Ex-Husband Calls Killing Unintended
by Richard Ashworth

   Henry Grady Cochran Tuesday denied intentionally killing his former wife Sept. 16 with a pistol as she sat in a car In front of his residence.
   Cochran, 42, of 2179 Stanton Cir., East Point, said in a lengthy statement that his wife tried to back over him with her car "and it brushed my leg."
   "I threw up my hand and the gun went off. By my reflex, the gun went off again," Cochran told a Fulton Superior Court jury.
   The ex-wife, Mrs. Lillie Mae Cochran, who had been living in Roswell since her divorce from Cochran in 1955, died of two bullet wounds in the head from Cochran's .22 caliber pistol.
IN A DAZE
   After the shooting, Cochran, an ex-paratrooper, said he just "stood there in a daze. I didn't know what was going on."
   Cochran denied that he came back from Texas where he had gone to work "with the intention of killing her."
   The defendant declared he had "always done my best" by his children and wife in supporting them. He told the jury, however, he had not worked steadily after his discharge from the Army last year after 13 years' service.
 "UNFAITHFUL"
   In his two-hour statement, Cochran said his wife had been unfaithful to him on numerous occasions while he was away from home on duty.
   Reiterating his claim that he did not shoot his wife intentionally, Cochran told the jury that he could have gotten away from the scene rather than wait for police, but did not.
   A number of state witnesses told of seeing Cochran standing beside the car and seeing him shoot into the car after the argument with his wife about his not supporting the children.
   The defense rested its case following Cochran's statement. The case probably will go to the jury for a decision Wednesday following closing arguments and a charge from Judge George P. Whitman Jr.

[The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, GA, 07 Nov 1956, Wed, Page 25]

Cochran Sentenced To Die
For Slaying His Ex-Wife
by Richard Ashworth

   Ex-paratrooper Henry Grady Cochran, 42, Wednesday was found guilty of the Sept. 16 pistol murder of his ex-wife by a Fulton Superior Court jury which did not recommend granting mercy.
   The mandatory death sentence was imposed by trial Judge George P. Whitman Jr.. Cochran was sentenced to die Dec. 28 in the electric chair at Georgia State Prison.
   Defense counsel for Cochran, who resided at 2179 Stanton Cir., East Point, immediately notified the court of intention to file a motion for new trial. The jury took two hours to reach its verdict.
  The ex-paratrooper, who was discharged from the Army last year after 13 years' service, showed no emotion as sentence was passed on him for the shooting of Mrs. Lillie Mae Cochran, who had divorced him last year,
   The state charged Cochran killed the woman as she sat in a car in front of Cochran's residence because he did not want to support his two children.
   Cochran told the jury in an unsworn statement Tuesday that he did not intentionally kill his wife. He claimed she tried to back over him with her car and that his pistol went off as he involuntarily threw up his hand.

[The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 08 Nov 1956, Tue, Page 3]

Griffin Reprieves
Cochran for 30 Days

   Henry Grady Cochran, of Atlanta, sentenced to be electrocuted Dec. 20 in the slaying of his former wife, was given a 30-day reprieve by Gov. Marvin Griffin Friday.
   The delay was granted to permit his attorney time to prepare a plea to the Pardon and Parole Board for clemency.
   Cochran was convicted of murder in Fulton Superior Court for the Sept. 16, 1956 slaying of Mrs. Lillie Mae Cochran. The conviction was affirmed by the Georgia Supreme Court last month.

[The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 14 Dec 1957, Sat, Page 15]

Wife-Killer Gets Reprieve

   Henry Grady Cochran, of East Point, sentenced to death in the electric chair for killing his ex-wife, was granted a 30-day stay of execution Wednesday by Gov. Griffin.
   The 42-year-old former paratrooper was convicted of killing Mrs. Lillie Mae Cochran in September 1956. She was shot through the head twice with a .22 caliber revolver as the sat in a car in front of Cochran's home at East Point.
   Griffin granted the reprieve at the request of the State Pardon and Parole Board. The board said it wanted more time to study an appeal. The reprieve expires March 5.
   Cochran'! death sentence was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court Nov 8. He was convicted in Fulton Superior Court.

[The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 06 Feb 1958, Thu, Page 7]