On May 12, 1990, 28-year old Jimmy Cotaling of Michigan drove his car to a store to buy his mother a Mother’s Day card. When he failed to return home, his family filed a missing person’s report. His car was found in Ohio. The police investigated the two occupants of the car, one of whom had suffered a stab wound to the stomach. Three days into the investigation, one of the suspects confessed that she and the co-defendant lured Jimmy into a house and killed him. Further investigation revealed that they lured Jimmy to a house in Michigan on his way to the store, stabbed him 26 times, and almost cut his head off. Police found Jimmy’s body in the house. The 16-year old female, who was the ring leader, received life without parole.
Charles D. Stimson is Senior Legal Fellow and Andrew M. Grossman is Senior Legal Policy Analyst in the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
