Man Accused of Killing Woman and Her Teen Daughter, Found 300 Miles Away at Kentucky Hospital
MOREHEAD, Ky. (WKRC) – A 44-year-old heavily tattooed man, Joshua Cottrell, has been charged with the brutal murders of a woman and her teenage daughter in their Morehead, Kentucky home.
The incident unfolded on the morning of September 19, when officers from the Morehead Police Department responded to a 911 call around 11 a.m.. A concerned coworker had requested a welfare check after Kayla Blake, 37, failed to show up for work.
When police arrived at the residence, they discovered two deceased individuals—Kayla Blake and her 13-year-old daughter, Kennedi McWhorter. Both deaths were immediately deemed suspicious.
By 2 p.m. the same day, Kentucky State Police Trooper Haney confirmed that Joshua Cottrell was taken into custody at a hospital in Paducah, approximately 300 miles from the crime scene. Authorities have not released the reason for his presence at the hospital or the nature of any injuries he may have sustained.
Cottrell now faces the following charges:
Two counts of murder
One count of tampering with physical evidence
The motive behind the killings and Cottrell’s connection to the victims has not yet been publicly disclosed.
The Rowan County Coroner’s Office is working with state investigators to piece together the timeline and circumstances of this tragic double homicide.
