Wife of appellate judge charged with threatening him in effort to get son-in-law arrested
The wife of an Indiana Court of Appeals judge has been cited for obstruction and making a false report after allegedly threatening the jurist in an effort to get the couple’s son-in-law arrested.
Beverly “Star” Cochran is accused of threatening Judge Edward “Ted” Najam in cellphone text messages and in a “die judge” message carved into the front door of their Bloomington home.
Police said she hoped the son-in-law would be blamed and charged with harassment, and she also hoped to disrupt the son-in-law’s marriage to the couple’s daughter, WBIW reports.
Investigators say Cochran admitted to purchasing a throwaway cellphone to send messages to her husband. An affidavit in the case says she claimed she acted to protect her husband, because “she had discussions with Mr. Najam that led her to believe that Mr. Najam intended to shoot [the son-in-law] and then turn himself in to law enforcement.”
Najam told investigators he made no such threat against the son-in-law but had said he would protect his family, if necessary, in self-defense.
The Herald Times (sub. req.) also has a story.
