Boyfriend's Story Starts Falling Apart Inside The Interrogation Room

[00:00:00]So, you said shots got fired.

[00:00:02]>> Yeah.

[00:00:02]>> What's the next thing that happens?

[00:00:05]>> I had I I fired more times in her or something. I She just And she said to me, "Eric, I'm dead."

[00:00:14]>> A man sits in an interrogation room as all the evidence has locked him in. But instead of denying the charges, he begins to speak. Every word does not clarify the truth, but quietly distorts it. And the most frightening thing is it actually works. I also figured, you know, people would be, you know, trying to call and I knew that I was going to have to turn myself in, but I didn't want to be tracked.

[00:00:42]>> Police received a report about a woman found unconscious in an apartment in Denver and quickly identified the victim as Melissa Wright, 41, a math teacher for severely disabled students who had recently been honored with the Golden Heart Award. What caught investigators attention from the beginning was that there were no signs of forced entry at the scene, suggesting that the person involved was very likely someone known to the victim. Suspicion quickly turned to her boyfriend, Eric Cobain, 49, who had a conflict-filled relationship with Melissa and was identified as the last person present at the apartment that evening after an argument. Eric leaving the scene without calling the police along with security camera footage and witness statements made him the primary suspect. Police immediately followed every lead from surveillance footage to surrounding connections, gradually tightening the net. As the pressure mounted in his arrest became only a matter of time, Eric suddenly appeared and turned himself in. But what drew investigators attention was not that he returned, but the way he began telling his version of events right afterward.

[00:01:44]What kind of story would he construct to explain what happened that night? And how much of that account would you believe? The interrogation began with Eric Cobain appearing hesitant, but then agreeing to cooperate when he realized investigators already had significant evidence in hand. He admitted involvement in the death of Melissa Wright, but continuously described his actions as a loss of control driven by emotion during an argument while emphasizing the long-standing tension in their relationship.

[00:02:11]>> This is kind of your opportunity, man.

[00:02:13]This is kind of your chance. You know what I'm saying?

[00:02:17]>> Yeah. I was going to turn myself in.

[00:02:19]Okay.

[00:02:20]>> Um, I talked to a friend of mine and yes, I voluntarily will talk, but there may be some things that I may want to stop.

[00:02:26]>> Okay. And you can, here's the deal, man.

[00:02:28]As we're going along the way, that's up to you. You know what I mean?

[00:02:31]>> Yeah.

[00:02:32]>> Okay.

[00:02:32]>> But >> so, I'm going to read that to you again, or you can read it, too. Knowing my rights and knowing what I am doing, I now wish to voluntarily talk to you. And if you along the way want to want to stop or you want to leave certain things out, that's entirely up to you. See, I I just don't know like from a defense perspective what >> Yeah.

[00:02:53]>> I mean, I can't make that decision for you. You have to make the decision. This is what I'm telling you. [clears throat] Okay.

[00:02:59]>> You already know what you told people, at least certain people.

[00:03:02]>> Mhm.

[00:03:03]>> Okay.

[00:03:04]>> Mhm.

[00:03:05]>> You understand you went in and out of a building with security cameras.

[00:03:10]>> Mhm.

[00:03:11]>> Right.

[00:03:11]>> Yeah. You understand that you went into a building filled with a lot of people, >> right?

[00:03:15]>> Yeah.

[00:03:15]>> There you go.

[00:03:16]>> Okay.

[00:03:16]>> Yeah.

[00:03:17]>> And I'm just throwing information out.

[00:03:19]Yeah.

[00:03:19]>> I'm just I'm I'm making statements to you right now. These aren't questions.

[00:03:23]These are statements.

[00:03:24]>> I'm giving you statements.

[00:03:26]>> Mhm.

[00:03:26]>> You went into a building filled with a lot of people.

[00:03:29]>> People saw you. I want you to have the opportunity to tell me your side, man.

[00:03:34]Cuz this is this is going to be it. I'm going to be honest with you. The way that I I go through this process all the time.

[00:03:39]>> Mhm. This is the This is the moment. You hear what I'm saying? And I I will tell you, I think you had some things going on that maybe you feel like people want to know, you want people to know about.

[00:03:53]This is kind of the the chance to put that out there. You know what I'm saying?

[00:03:57]>> Throughout this process, investigators combine presenting information with creating a sense of understanding to encourage him to keep talking, thereby clarifying more details and exposing inconsistencies in his account. When a suspect agrees to speak under such high pressure, they are often not just answering. They are beginning to construct a version of the truth that benefits them.

[00:04:17]>> I've been in relationships. They're hard. It's always not what everybody thinks it is.

[00:04:23]>> You know what I'm saying?

[00:04:24]>> I maybe look like an adult, but in the inside I'm a big kid, man. I'm wrong.

[00:04:29]I'm just so Yeah.

[00:04:31]>> Well, that's probably true of most of us to be honest with you, right? We all kind of think we're adults sometimes and inside I don't know that we all feel that way.

[00:04:38]>> Yeah. I don't know.

[00:04:39]>> We do the best we can.

[00:04:40]>> I'm I'm telling you, man. This is the moment. And whatever else happened, I'm going to throw this out there, Eric, cuz I'm going to tell you the opposite of love is is not like being being done with love is indifference, right? If you got hate for somebody sometimes, and sometimes everybody's kind of got hate for somebody, it's because underneath that's love.

[00:05:08]Right.

[00:05:11]And here's the deal, man.

[00:05:13]I have no doubt you love this woman tremendously.

[00:05:17]>> Right.

[00:05:19]Okay. And let's just be honest. You know where this is headed, right?

[00:05:24]>> Mhm.

[00:05:24]>> I mean, it's it's kind of time to take responsibility. Okay.

[00:05:28]So, here's the deal, man. This is this is your this I'm telling you right now.

[00:05:32]I want to hear your side.

[00:05:36]But apart from that too, man, this is somebody you loved tremendously and whatever else has happened.

[00:05:48]In some ways, this is kind of your chance to make that right.

[00:05:51]>> After establishing pressure, investigators shifted to a softer approach, creating a sense of understanding and empathy to encourage the suspect to open up. This tactic quickly proved effective as Eric began admitting his role in the incident while at the same time describing it as a state of loss of control and lack of awareness.

[00:06:10]>> I am responsible for Melissa's death. I can tell you that much. I'm the one that did it and I take that responsibility and all the things that led up to it.

[00:06:24]It's too intense and complicated to describe. There's too much that I don't even know what happened to me. I have no idea. It was like an out-of body experience. I didn't even know what the hell was going on. Making that confession and not necessarily to us, to God, which maybe you already did.

[00:06:44]>> Okay.

[00:06:46][laughter] >> But you're living in this kingdom right now on earth.

[00:06:51]>> Oh, and it not of it. [sighs] >> Okay. You're not in that kingdom yet.

[00:06:55]>> I know. I can't wait to be there. Okay.

[00:06:59]But you're here now.

[00:07:00]>> Yeah.

[00:07:01]>> And people of faith, men of faith, can't live one way here and expect to live one way there. So, kind of surrendering yourself to all of that means you got to do the same thing on this plane in this kingdom here on earth. You're going to be that man of God.

[00:07:19]>> It's about taking that responsibility.

[00:07:21]And I know relationships are complicated.

[00:07:24]Who doesn't know that? They're hard. and you get places sometimes, especially with the people that mean the most to you, >> and it just gets turned and twisted, and you kind of lose yourself.

[00:07:37]>> He did not deny his actions, but attempted to blur the level of intent by emphasizing emotion and chaos. This created a paradox. The confession appeared sincere, yet it was wrapped in details that made responsibility ambiguous. This was not just a confession, but a process of reshaping the narrative in which the suspect tried to turn his actions into a consequence of emotion rather than a conscious choice.

[00:08:00]>> I didn't even recognize the person that I was that night.

[00:08:04]>> That's something we can talk about, too.

[00:08:07]But you're the one that has to make that decision. It's not anybody else's decision to make but yours.

[00:08:13]>> So, even if I sign this, I can still go back to that if there's somebody want to talk to.

[00:08:19]>> Yep. And you need this to proceed any further.

[00:08:22]>> You have to be the one that makes the decision. Detective Johnson can't make it for you. I can't make it for you.

[00:08:27]Nobody in this building can make it for you. Nobody in the entire rest of the world can make that decision for you.

[00:08:33]>> It's not anybody else's right or responsibility to make that decision for you.

[00:08:37]>> It may not be their right or responsibility, but they might know whether I should or should not go into additional details.

[00:08:46]>> Really are the only one that can make that decision. Well, I have to have somebody inform me like uh a public defender on what I should and should not be sharing. I already admitted to murdering her. I don't know what else I can tell you. I You You said it yourself. Relationships are are difficult. I I got lo I lost myself in this relationship for the last two and a half years and allowed myself to be mentally abused, talked down to, degraded sometimes in front of other people. There are people that I know in our groups of circle that they were like are you going to let her degrade you like that? How can you you know they know I have text messages from u another girl that was a friend of ours and she said I heard you broke up. you trying to we're going to take care of you. We know that Melissa didn't like wasn't nice to you. She was mean to you. I have stuff like that. There's And it's not it's just I lost my [ __ ] Point blank.

[00:09:46]I couldn't handle it anymore. like the repeated like emotional hostage taking and terrorism of separating ties with me and then coming back and being okay with it and then not being okay with it and double standards and being treated like a freaking child. There's a lot of things that just it's too much and too overwhelming. You'd need two or three counselors, therapists, and a few people else in here to record all this crap.

[00:10:13]I'm not going to go into that much detail for you. What I will tell you is I lost my I was drunk. I shouldn't have been there. I shouldn't have been driving. I shouldn't have been I don't know what the hell happened to me. I don't know exactly when I I grabbed the gun. I just realized that I had it in my hands. I literally couldn't believe that it was going on like and it just it it all happened so fast. I don't even remember it all. As he began to feel safer in the conversation, Eric started talking more about his relationship with the victim. He described a prolonged period of tension in which he portrayed himself as being under pressure and emotionally hurt.

[00:10:54]>> And remember the beginning of like and the end I know a little bit of argument about I came home smelled like alcohol.

[00:11:03]She was mad. She's like you don't like it when I don't like it when you drink.

[00:11:07]She's like maybe you should just go home. And we got into an argument about that and I said no. I tried to calm down and I said, "Look, I'm okay. It's not a problem. Let's just go to sleep and do our thing tomorrow." And she just escalated and went through the roof and was badgering, belittling, calling me names, stupid, [ __ ] talking about different things. I just It's all the the same behaviors. And I I think something inside of me just said no more. I think that's what happened. And I can tell you, I don't like myself. I don't I don't really care if my life ends now. I don't care what happens to me. I think back to the few parts that I realize what happened and I'm disgusted with myself. I am completely disgusted with myself and I I don't want to be here. I'm only choosing to be here because that's not how God wants things to go. So now I'll be of service to God in jail for however long that is.

[00:12:10]>> The details he provided were aimed at building the image of someone who had been emotionally suppressed over a long time. However, as the story went deeper, the focus gradually shifted from explaining the incident to justifying his personal emotions.

[00:12:23]>> I don't I don't think she cheated on me.

[00:12:26]There's no question mark there if you're wondering about that. Um, I was worried about it because she emotionally cheated on me. She'd spend time like mostly with older retired guys. She goes sailing with guys out on Cherry Creek Reservoir.

[00:12:42]She hit on guys at bars just to get a drink. So, emotionally, I'm I'm screwed up on the inside. I should have let go of that a long time ago, but I could not let go of her. My therapist told me that I should not be seeing her. She was happy when I moved out 3 months ago. She said, "We both have we triggered the hell out of each other and we both have the same problems and we're should not be together." She literally did not want to counsel me if I was with her. And everything on the surface, the outside world, Melissa is she's wonderful. She's gregarious. She's charming. She tells great stories with great punchlines.

[00:13:22]She's fun. She's the life of the party.

[00:13:25]At home, she's abusive. Even her daughter felt that way. She lived with us in a three-bedroom town home. And she left because she didn't feel like she could be in a relationship with her boyfriend. They couldn't do anything in our house. They didn't feel comfortable because they would be uh they would just feel uncomfortable. They would sometimes feel attacked or marginalized or just like devalued.

[00:13:52]um they would argue for ever for over dumb crap like >> this allowed investigators to remain silent as the suspect's own stream of thought was unintentionally revealing his underlying motives. This was not just a statement but an attempt by the suspect to reshape the narrative where emotion was emphasized to blur responsibility and in doing so made the truth harder to recognize.

[00:14:16]>> So you pretty much needed me to sign that to be able to say all that crap to you? Is that pretty much?

[00:14:21]>> No, I need you to sign that for me to ask you questions.

[00:14:24]>> Oh, [snorts] okay. Here, I'll wait till she gets back so you can see it signed.

[00:14:30]>> That's all right. We're on video.

[00:14:32]>> Okay. Yeah. I I don't care if you ask me questions.

[00:14:36]>> Okay.

[00:14:42]I mean, you know why we're here. We've gone over that, right?

[00:14:45]>> I'm going to ask you a couple of these questions just cuz they're kind of standard. Okay. I don't want to not be standard. Okay. Have any promises or threats been made at any time by myself or anyone else to get you to make this statement?

[00:14:56]>> No.

[00:14:56]>> Are you under the influence of any narcotic, drug, or alcohol?

[00:14:59]>> No.

[00:15:00]>> Is the statement being made voluntarily?

[00:15:02]>> Yes.

[00:15:02]>> You understand we're being both video and audio recorded?

[00:15:05]>> Yes.

[00:15:05]>> Okay. So, fair enough. You pretty much laid it out there. Um, but we have a job to do, right? You understand that?

[00:15:12]>> I get it.

[00:15:12]>> Um, and so we have to be specific about certain things. A notable point began to emerge when Eric repeatedly claimed he could not clearly remember the most critical moment of the incident, yet was able to recall in considerable detail the events before and after it.

[00:15:27]>> A little after 11.

[00:15:28]>> Okay.

[00:15:29]>> Yeah. Cuz I seem to remember texting Melissa right around 11, like 15, something like that.

[00:15:36]>> Okay.

[00:15:36]>> She said she was going to be 8 minutes home and I said I, you know, I could be there in 18. I think she asked me if I should just go home or not and I was like, "No, I'd like to see you or something like that."

[00:15:46]>> Okay.

[00:15:47]>> So, >> um, so you're hanging mean when you say you're going these places, you're driving.

[00:15:52]>> Yeah.

[00:15:53]>> Okay.

[00:15:53]>> Mhm.

[00:15:54]>> Um, do you know what time you left?

[00:15:57]>> Yeah, like literally like >> 11 >> 10 10 after 11.

[00:16:01]>> Okay. How far from is Melissa's?

[00:16:04]>> Like 20 minutes. 23 minutes. I think I put into the GPS. He provided specific information about the time, location, and peripheral actions, while the central part was described as a blank.

[00:16:16]This selective memory made the story inconsistent, yet it was presented in a way that made it sound plausible. She's like, "You're drunk. You should go home." She's I was like, "What?" And I don't remember because she started getting squirly with me about it. And when she does that, I got like she just started kind of getting weird and just being like, "No, you should go home."

[00:16:41]She's like, "You know, I don't like you when you're drunk." And I uh I was like, "No, it's okay, baby. I did have some, but it's, you know, I'm okay." She's like, "No, I don't want you to be an asshole." She's like, "You're always an asshole." I'm like, "I'm not always an asshole." and she started talking about how I'm an alcoholic and I'm stupid and just kind of going like just I I don't know. It just it triggered something inside of me like that PTSD kind of like stress cortisol feeling.

[00:17:10]>> Okay.

[00:17:11]>> You know what I mean? Like but that's constantly. So like whenever we start talking and it's like I feel unheard kind of thing and she just like hammers on me.

[00:17:25]That's kind of how it got going. And uh I think when that happens I don't really realize like what I'm saying. I just get defensive and just kind of like try to like play it off or uh just to avoid the the you know the what do you call it just the being talked down to sort of >> okay >> you know what I mean?

[00:17:52]Uh, I think I can remember like her laying down and I was like, she was telling me, "No, no, you should go home." And she started just really railing on me about different things and she said, "I'm going to record this."

[00:18:05]And I was like, "Okay, fine. Do that."

[00:18:06]She's like, "Get out of my apartment."

[00:18:08]And I was I was like, "No." I was like, "Let me just, you know, let me just stay." Cuz I've we've done this before.

[00:18:12]Like we would argue and we'd like calm down and everything and be cool.

[00:18:17]>> And so she's like, "I'm going to call the police." police and I was like, "Well, go ahead and call the police."

[00:18:22]>> Investigators did not directly challenge him, but allowed the suspect to continue speaking, thereby revealing contradictions on his own. Investigators do not always need to point out mistakes sometimes. Letting a suspect talk long enough is the most effective way for the truth to reveal itself.

[00:18:38]>> Where'd you get the gun?

[00:18:40]>> Um, I purchased it at um Wait a Not Sportsman's Warehouse. That was her gun. You got um Cabelis probably three four years ago.

[00:18:54]>> Okay. What kind of gun is it?

[00:18:55]>> Uh it's it's a 45 compact. Um man, I forgot the name of it. Everybody was loving them. Um I can't remember. I don't know. Uh they're just accurate. I >> What color is it?

[00:19:09]>> Black.

[00:19:10]>> Okay.

[00:19:10]>> Yeah.

[00:19:11]>> Is it a Glock?

[00:19:12]>> No. No, no, no, it's not Glock. Um, I can't remember the name of it right now.

[00:19:17]I I'm sorry.

[00:19:18]>> They confiscated it out of the vehicle.

[00:19:20]So, okay.

[00:19:21]>> Yeah. Or I told them it was in the vehicle. They >> Okay. Where in the vehicle is it?

[00:19:25]>> It's either in the Well, actually, it's either in the vehicle or it was in that laptop bag. I don't know which, but >> it's in one of the two.

[00:19:31]>> One of the two. It was either going to be under the seat or was going to be in the little pocket on the back seat.

[00:19:36]Okay.

[00:19:36]>> On the passenger side.

[00:19:39]>> Okay. So, >> so you mentioned like when you got there, you were bringing your bags with you. Like when you got to the to the apartment Friday night, did you bring your bags in with you?

[00:19:48]>> Oh, no.

[00:19:48]>> I misunderstand that.

[00:19:50]>> No, no. Yeah. No. Um, my car had been broken into.

[00:19:54]>> Okay.

[00:19:54]>> At her place on [snorts] uh this Sunday, 5 days prior, like that week, and luckily they Well, I wish they did steal that gun. Um, the gun didn't get stolen.

[00:20:08]>> Okay. So, we put it in her apartment till we could figure out, you know, getting my locks changed or if it was insurance or, you know, whatever.

[00:20:16]>> Where in the apartment?

[00:20:18]>> Uh, on a shelf in her bedroom. The bottom shelf.

[00:20:21]>> Yeah. Just like on the shelf.

[00:20:22]>> Yeah. White shelf. Uh, in a in a green bag. Um, >> so was it in the bag? It >> was in a bag in a box.

[00:20:31]>> Okay. So, [snorts] when you got the gun, you said you loaded it.

[00:20:34]>> The magazines were already loaded. It was It's supposed to be for car carry conceal.

[00:20:40]>> Okay.

[00:20:40]>> Right. And >> so is the magazine in the gun or did you have to put the magazine in the gun?

[00:20:44]>> Magazine should have been in the gun.

[00:20:46]Typically I just leave it in there.

[00:20:48]>> Okay.

[00:20:48]>> I think it went in the chamber or did you have to chamber it?

[00:20:54]>> In this part of the interrogation, Eric Cobain continued to provide additional information about what happened before and after the incident, but maintained his position that he could not clearly remember the crucial moment. I like I said, man, it was all a blur. I don't even have any clue. I just found myself [snorts] there.

[00:21:14]>> I I I don't It's like a blank.

[00:21:19]>> You said she was laying down. So, I don't like to make assumptions about what that means cuz somebody could be laying down on a couch. Somebody could be laying down on a chair.

[00:21:26]>> It was in her bed.

[00:21:27]>> Okay. She on top of the covers. Under the covers?

[00:21:30]>> She's under the covers, I think.

[00:21:33]>> Okay.

[00:21:34]I I think.

[00:21:35]>> And you mentioned when you came in she was wearing just a t-shirt.

[00:21:38]>> Yeah.

[00:21:39]>> The t-shirt. She go to bed in the t-shirt.

[00:21:42]>> I don't know if she crawled into bed with that t-shirt or not.

[00:21:46]>> Okay.

[00:21:46]>> Literally, I just I can't even like There's just some stuff that's like blanked out. I don't even know.

[00:21:52]>> Does she normally like sleep like in a in a t-shirt in pajamas naked?

[00:21:57]>> We we both sleep naked typically.

[00:21:58]>> Okay. Even so, he was able to recall surrounding situations and actions after leaving the scene in considerable detail, creating inconsistencies in his account. Investigators allowed him to present his version freely in order to clarify the story and observe how he chose what to disclose.

[00:22:15]>> Um, so and Eric, at one point you said you found yourself over her. So tell me what that means.

[00:22:20]>> I just had the gun over her.

[00:22:23]>> Okay. and a shot had been fired and I blanked out and I I don't know. I just continued like it was it was surreal. I didn't even know. It didn't register to me. I I don't know.

[00:22:41]>> Are you guys talking still at that time?

[00:22:44]>> Uh no. I mean I don't know. I don't know what led up to that. I have no idea. No clue.

[00:22:50]>> Okay.

[00:22:51]>> No clue. So, >> you said she started recording you?

[00:22:55]>> Yeah.

[00:22:56]>> Do you mean on her phone?

[00:22:57]>> Yeah, I guess that was Yeah.

[00:22:59]>> Okay. Did you see her actually start doing that?

[00:23:02]>> Trying to think. Maybe she reached over early. Yeah. On I don't know. We had a habit of recording each other cuz we didn't trust each other.

[00:23:10]>> Okay. Right.

[00:23:11]>> We just know, >> you know, totally just didn't trust each other. Well, not I mean, we did, but we didn't. It was weird. It's like when we got in a fight, I would start recording and then she'd always ask me, she's like, "Well, have you ever recorded anything fun?" [snorts] >> So, you said shots got fired.

[00:23:28]>> Yeah.

[00:23:28]>> What's the next thing that happens?

[00:23:31]>> I think I remember seeing her jump or fall out of bed. And I guess I've I've had I I've fired more times in her or something. I She just And she said to me, "Eric, I'm dead." And that's all I can ever see in my head anymore.

[00:23:57]>> Okay.

[00:23:57]>> Is, "Eric, I'm dead."

[00:23:59]This was also the point at which personal emotions were emphasized the most as a way to shape how the listener would interpret the event. When a story becomes most unclear, it is often when the suspect is trying to control how it is understood.

[00:24:13]>> Uh I seem to remember grabbing stuff and running out the door. I I didn't know.

[00:24:20]That's that's all I can remember.

[00:24:22]>> When you say stuff, what do you mean?

[00:24:23]just like uh a bag of [snorts] a a small suitcase that I had in there and I just I just I ran out the door.

[00:24:35]>> Where did you exit the building?

[00:24:38]>> Uh stairwell. The same stairwell.

[00:24:40]>> Same one you came in.

[00:24:41]>> Uhhuh.

[00:24:42]>> Okay. The one that's closest to the apartment door.

[00:24:44]>> Mhm.

[00:24:44]>> Okay. And where did you go from there?

[00:24:46]>> Uh my car.

[00:24:48]>> Okay.

[00:24:48]>> Yeah.

[00:24:50]>> And then what?

[00:24:53]I don't even know where I drove. I I was driving around for a while, I think, just losing my mind, just breathing heavy, freaking out. Uh I think I drove up to the mountains a little bit and then I came back.

[00:25:08]I had I was just out of it. Uh I started to come to and realize that just this is terrible and I I just slept [snorts] in my car.

[00:25:20]>> Okay. Do you know where you stopped to sleep in your car?

[00:25:23]>> Yeah, over near my old one of my old jobs, iHeart. Uh pulled over there since I was driving all over. I was like, "Oh, okay. Here there here's a spot for me to just I tried I didn't really sleep.

[00:25:35]>> Got in and out a little bit. Can't really sleep."

[00:25:37]>> Yeah. No, no. I'm just I'm just beside myself over what happened and trying to figure out what happened and why I did it and what the heck is wrong with me. I mean, what possessed me? And I'm praying to God and I'm asking him, "What is this all about? How did I How did this come about? I'm just still not quite as intense then, but I still feel that way. Same questions."

[00:26:05]Okay.

[00:26:07]>> When did you leave the garage?

[00:26:09]>> I don't know. Everything after that is again kind of a blur. I maybe 8:00 in the morning or something.

[00:26:15]>> I'm guessing. No, maybe it was closer to 10.

[00:26:18]>> Where have you been since then?

[00:26:22]>> Uh, where have I been? I don't even really I just I stayed at uh a cheap motel on Broadway.

[00:26:32]>> You know which one?

[00:26:33]>> Lucky something or something like that.

[00:26:35]Yeah, I remember the Wi-Fi was like I think it's Lucky whatever.

[00:26:39]>> Like South Broadway.

[00:26:40]>> South Broadway.

[00:26:41]>> Okay.

[00:26:41]>> Yeah.

[00:26:43]In the final minutes of the interrogation, Eric Cobain focused on describing his actions after leaving the scene, stating that he had moved through several locations before deciding to turn himself in. However, his limited communication and failure to immediately contact the police suggested avoidance, creating a contradiction between his words and actions.

[00:27:03]>> Okay. Yeah.

[00:27:04]>> Is that stuff that was just kind of you had at the apartment cuz that's where you've been staying?

[00:27:08]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:27:08]>> Okay.

[00:27:09]>> Yeah.

[00:27:09]>> And what made you grab all that stuff?

[00:27:12]Uh, I don't know because I was gonna take it the first time.

[00:27:17]>> I just just grabbed I don't know. I just grabbed it.

[00:27:21]>> Okay.

[00:27:21]>> So, >> yeah.

[00:27:23]>> Um, and I know we talked about you leaving and and then you end up at the at the parking garage >> and you call your mom, you call Brian, but you leave voicemails for both.

[00:27:33]>> You message Maria.

[00:27:35]>> Um, you said you turned your phone off.

[00:27:37]>> Yeah.

[00:27:37]>> Why did you turn your phone off? I was trying to get some sleep and I also figured, you know, people would be, you know, trying to call and I knew that I was going to have to turn myself in, but I didn't want to be tracked.

[00:27:52]>> Okay.

[00:27:52]>> So, fair enough.

[00:27:53]>> Yeah. So, I turned it off.

[00:27:55]>> Okay.

[00:27:56]>> The interrogation concluded as the overall picture of the incident became clearer. Not because every detail was explained, but because the suspect had revealed how he wanted the story to be perceived. Sometimes the most important thing is not just what a suspect confesses, but how they want others to understand those actions. At the conclusion of the case, Eric Cobain was not brought to trial on the original charge of firstdegree murder, but instead pleaded guilty to seconddegree murder as part of an agreement with prosecutors. This decision stemmed from the difficulty of proving intent, as his own statements had framed the incident as an impulsive act driven by emotion.

[00:28:32]At sentencing, the court consider all the evidence along with the severity of the case and ultimately Eric Cobain was sentenced to 48 years in prison. A verdict may close a case, but it cannot ease the loss left behind by Melissa Wright. She was not just a victim in a criminal file, but a dedicated teacher who gave her time and her heart to help students with disabilities find confidence and opportunity in life. What she gave to others still remains, but her life was cut short far too soon. the good she had yet to do, the people she had yet to help.