Kentucky Man Charged With Murders of Mother, Daughter After Prior Conviction

Joshua Cottrell, a Kentucky man previously convicted of second-degree manslaughter for a 2003 killing where he stuffed the victim's body in a suitcase, has been arrested and charged with the murders of his girlfriend, Kayla Blake, 37, and her 13-year-old daughter, Kennedi McWhorter. The bodies were found during a welfare check in Rowan County after Blake's coworker reported her absence from work. Cottrell was located later the same day at a hospital in Paducah with blood on his clothes and was subsequently taken into custody on a $1 million bond. Authorities confirm Cottrell served 20 years in prison for the earlier crime and was released in 2019 after completing Mandatory Reentry Supervision. The investigation into the double murder is ongoing, with officials withholding further details on the circumstances of the killings. The case has shocked the local community, with friends and family mourning the tragic loss of Blake and her daughter.