Robert and Patricia Cogdell helped raise Justin Staton.They were the teen’s legal guardians, a role they took on even after learning that Staton wasn’t their biological grandson.
But in 2015, the Cogdells were fatally shot, their bodies found near their Arkansas home, and Staton, at the age of 14, was among those charged in their killings. The plot was a “robbery-and-murder scheme,” concocted with other teens during a stint in juvenile jail.
This week, Staton, who is now 15, pleaded guilty to a handful of charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, according to court documents.
“I hope every day for the rest of your life, you think about them,” Faulkner County Circuit Court Judge Troy Braswell told Staton in court. “Because they loved you and took care of you … and the thanks you gave them was murder.”
Staton, who was charged and tried as an adult, was sentenced to a 35-year prison term.
“This is tragic for everybody,” his attorney, Gina Reynolds, told The Post. “My client has provided information to the prosecutor and in exchange for that, he was offered this plea deal. We hope that this eventually manages to give the family some peace.”
Staton agreed to testify against the others charged in the shootings — a group that includes Hunter Drexler, who was 17 at the time of the crime. The newspaper reported that Staton also turned over the passcode for an Apple device that contains text messages exchanged with Drexler.
“The state believes it has determined what the appropriate pyramid of culpability is related to the 4 defendants in the case and the Staton plea is the first step pursuing that theory of the case,” 20th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said in an email to The Post. “As the result of information obtained from the plea, the state hopes to bolster its position relative to the other defendant(s) in this matter and hopefully bring some measure of justice in the death of two of people whose only crime was loving their grandson.”
The case was detailed in a brief document filed on the same day as the plea.
The court filing alleges that Staton — along with Drexler and another teen — plotted to kill the Cogdells “in order to get money to help them run away from Arkansas.”
Drexler brought the firearms, the court documents allege, and both he and Staton were “armed with guns in the killing of Robert and Patricia Cogdell.”
“After the Cogdells were shot, Hunter Drexler wrapped the body of Robert Cogdell in a rug and Justin used a front loader to move his body to the tree line on the property,” the document states.
The machine was also used to move the body of Patricia Cogdell, according to the filing.
“Both bodies were dumped in the woods,” the document states.
Drexler and Staton then drove to a Walmart, where Drexler “paid over $700 in cash for a cell phone and prepaid minutes,” using money that had been taken from Robert Cogdell, the document alleges.
Drexler faces several charges, including two counts of capital murder, court records indicate.
The Cogdells became Staton’s legal guardians a few years ago.
Staton was raised as their grandson, even though testing eventually determined that they weren’t genetically related.
Handcuffed and shackled, Staton wiped away tears as he took the witness stand. His face unshaven and at times quivering with emotion, Staton answered Judge Troy Braswell’s questions softly, directly and without elaboration. The boy declined to make a statement of his own.“I hope that nobody would ever judge somebody by the worst thing they ever did,” Reynolds told The Post, speaking generally about defendants that she has represented. “You may not understand or it may not be explainable, but people do bad things sometimes.”
She later added: “Any parent wants to say, ‘Oh my child would never be in this situation,’ but I’ve been doing this for a little while, and you can never tell.”
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