FAYETTEVILLE —The death penalty remains on the table for a man accused of killing a young woman more than seven years ago.
Rico Tavarous Cohn, 27, of Springdale, is charged with capital murder in the death of Nina Ingram, who was a 21-year-old college student. Ingram was found strangled April 22, 2006, inside her Sycamore Street apartment. Cohn was arrested and charged after police reopened the case last year.
Cohn’s defense team, including Tony Pirani and Kao Lee, tried at a motion hearing Tuesday to head off the death penalty by having it declared unconstitutionally cruel and unusual as well as excessive, arbitrary and capricious. Washington County Circuit Judge William Storey denied three related defense motions.
“As I understand the law, both from the U.S. Supreme Court and the Arkansas Supreme Court, our death penalty is constitutional and I won’t declare it otherwise,” Storey said. “Whether it’s good public policy or not is not for this court to decide.”
Pirani also asked for an additional jury instruction regarding mercy even if aggravating circumstances are found.
“They have that right not to impose the death penalty and we feel an instruction is the only way to get them to understand they have that right,” Pirani said.
Prosecuting Attorney John Threet said he has not decided whether to seek the death penalty against Cohn.
Storey also reset the trial, which was set to begin Monday, to March 10. There have been delays getting Cohn’s mental examinations completed and getting reports from the state crime lab. Cohn has been in the Washington County Jail without bond since his arrest June 6, 2012.
“We really need to get this case tried,” Storey said.
Other motions Monday were more mundane, relating to procedure, discovery efforts and if Cohn can appear in civilian clothing and without visible restraints. Storey said he expects more hearings to address issues like jury selection and instructions closer to trial.
After six years of having no leads, Fayetteville police decided to take another look at the cold case, examining facts and interviewing witnesses. New information, including DNA evidence, came to light implicating Cohn, authorities say.
Ingram was last seen just before midnight April 21, 2006, when she left her job at the Walmart Supercenter on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. She spent time with her boyfriend, Josh Stewart, who told police he dropped Ingram at her apartment and he went home. Ingram’s brother found her body the next day.
Ingram’s mother, Judy Ingram, who lives in Texas, reminded media annually about her daughter’s unsolved case.
In addition to starting the Nina Ingram Foundation, Judy Ingram wrote a book, “The Brightest Star,” detailing her daughter’s life.