Geneva Police closer to solving 15-year-old murder case
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Updated: 10:47 PM Nov 10, 2009
Geneva Police closer to solving 15-year-old murder case
Police in Geneva are one step closer to solving a 15-year-old murder case. Back in 1994, 68-year-old RJ McKenzie in Geneva was brutally murdered and no one was held responsible for it. A Geneva grand jury recently issued a capital murder indictment for the main suspect.
Posted: 9:49 PM Nov 10, 2009
Reporter: Rhiana Huckins
Email Address: rhiana@wtvy.com
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Police in Geneva are one step closer to solving a 15-year-old murder case.

Back in 1994, 68-year-old RJ McKenzie in Geneva was brutally murdered and no one was held responsible for it.

A Geneva grand jury recently issued a capital murder indictment for the main suspect.

"This thing has haunted me for over 13 years now," said Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsay.

He is referring to December 23, 1994. That's the day RJ McKenzie was brutally beaten with a fire extinguisher and stabbed multiple times in his home on Hart Street in Geneva.

Fifteen years later, new evidence has been found and authorities think they can prove who the killer is.

"We pulled our evidence out of the evidence room and started sifting through it and started re-interviewing witnesses. Through new interviews, we found some more people who had interest in this case" said Chief Lindsay.

Thirty-four-year-old Patrick Cochran has been issued a capital murder indictment from the Geneva County grand jury.

Cochran was 19 years old at the time of the murder and was friends with 68-year-old McKenzie.

"Patrick was a person of interest from the get go. We are very fortunate that we were able to bring some closure to the case," said Lt. Ricky Morgan of The Geneva Police Department.

The home that R.J. McKenzie lived in still stands here today in a quiet Geneva neighborhood. It’s hard to believe, 15 years ago, an acquaintance found him dead in his bedroom.

"He got killed near Christmas time; that is a special time in my heart. He got brutally murdered. Nobody deserves to die like he died," said Chief Lindsay.

Cochran is currently serving a 10 year sentence for a Holmes County, Florida conviction of battery against a child.

He is not expected to be released until 2011 for that charge.

The Geneva County Sheriff's Office has placed a 'detainer' on Cochran with the Florida Department of Corrections. That means when his current sentence is up, he will be taken to the Geneva County Jail.

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