KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson has been following the death of Fairway Ofc. Jonah Oswald since 2023. She is covering the murder trial in Johnson County. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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A jury in Johnson County should begin deliberations this week in the Andrea Cothran trial.
Cothran is charged with eight felonies, including first-degree murder for the death of Fairway Police Officer Jonah Oswald in 2023.
The other suspect, Shannon Marshall, was killed by police after allegedly firing the shot that killed Oswald.
The state has called 32 witnesses in the case.
Attorneys made last efforts Tuesday afternoon to prove to a jury that while the defendant did not pull the trigger, they believe her actions still led to the death of Oswald.
The most compelling evidence shown to the jury Tuesday was a video of Cothran's interrogation after her arrest and the shooting of Oswald.
The state had a Jackson-Denno hearing before showing the interrogation to the jury. The judge ruled that Cothran's interview with detectives was voluntary and legal.
Video showed Cothran waiving her Miranda rights before telling detectives what happened from her point of view.
In the interrogation, Cothran told Lenexa detectives that she and Marshall drove from Tennessee to Kansas to "meet up with friends" and was not aware the vehicle was stolen.
The vehicle was allegedly stolen from a gas station in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, by the suspects, who left it in a Walmart parking lot in Overland Park.
Another vehicle was allegedly stolen by the suspects from a QuickTrip in Lenexa with a dog in the back seat. Despite allegedly driving it during the police chase, the defendant claimed she was not aware it was stolen.
She was emotional as she told detectives that Marshall convinced her to drive.
Cothran said, "He said, 'Don't stop, they're going to kill you.'"
The defendant told detectives during the interrogation that she noticed red flags while she was running from police, but had been in an abusive relationship with Marshall.
She said she was scared of Marshall and the police officers.
"I was panicking. I didn't know what to do...I had been set up," Cothran said to detectives.
Cothran told detectives that she did not know a gun was in the alleged stolen vehicle before Oswald was killed. A DNA analyst testified in court on Tuesday that Cothran's DNA was on the gun used to kill Oswald.
The toxicology report of Marshall confirmed he had meth and fentanyl in his system.
Additional testimony is expected Wednesday.
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