Brian Cohee: Horrific Murderer of Warren Barnes

Author:
Gavin Cline
Updated:
May 22, 2024 12:10 PM EDT

Brian Cohee's car got stuck when he dumped a body in a river, becoming one of several crime scenes.

An Unthinkable Crime

On the night of February 27, 2021, Warren Barnes, a man living outside of downtown businesses in Grand Junction, Colorado, was sleeping under a bridge. Despite being homeless, Barnes was a popular figure among the downtown community for his amiable disposition; locals knew him as the "Reading Man" for his love of reading. But what would happen next shocked and terrified the community.

Brian Cohee, 19 years old at the time, had been plotting to murder someone for the past six months. His preference was a homeless person or a prostitute, believing there would be few people that would miss his victim.

That day, Brian Cohee had been passing through the area when he spotted the 69-year-old Warren Barnes sleeping. Cohee would approach Barnes with a kitchen knife, a mask, and wearing three layers of gloves, and proceeded to horrifically murder him. Cohee had seen Barnes laying under a canvas upon arriving. He walked up to Barnes with knife in hand, pulled back the canvas, and stabbed him in the neck.

I've always wondered what murder felt like.

— Brian Cohee discussing the murders to a detective.

Barnes did not die after the first stab, and he would awaken and scream out in pain. Cohee then got on top of Barnes and continuously stabbed him, ultimately killing him. During this time, Barnes's head would also be partially decapitated. Cohee would further mutilate the body, slicing open Barnes' stomach to "see his guts," as he admitted to police in an interrogation, and cut off Barnes' hands and placed them in a plastic bag. Cohee also stabbed Barnes' eyes.

Victim Dismemberment

But his horrendous acts did not stop there. Cohee cut apart Barnes' right arm at the joints and partially dismembered the left arm. He would also cut a joker-like smile in Barnes' face before finally decapitating the head and placing it in a leftover pizza box, leaving the rest of his victim's body at the scene.

Brian Cohee at his trial
Western Slope Now

A Killer's Grim Trophies

Cohee arrived home and washed his clothes. He stored the dismembered head and hands of Barnes in trash bags in his closet, then laid in his bed trying to sleep. But he became worried that he would be discovered by a potential hole in his gloves that would reveal a fingerprint.

So Cohee put on a different outfit and drove back to Barnes' body, where he would place it in his trunk. Then he drove to the Blue Heron boat ramp, located on the Colorado River, where he dumped Barnes' body into the water, but when trying to leave, Cohee's car would slide into the river and become stuck.

The police department would be called out to the car to discover Cohee, but he was released from the scene without suspicion. Cohee would return home, hoping that his crimes would go unnoticed.

Heinous Discovery

On March 1st, 2021, Cohee's parents would make the terrifying discovery. Terri Cohee, Brian's mother, would go into his bedroom, suspicious of his car sinking into the river the day prior. Upon entering his closet, Terri would discover a human head in a trash bag.

Terrified, Terri called 911, sending officers to the residence. Police arrived, and with permission, entered the house and discovered the head in the sink, where Terri had put it. Brian would be taken to an interrogation room at the police station to be questioned, and it is here that Brian began to happily talk to the detectives about his crimes.

During the interview with the police, Brian would admit to the murder, telling them how he had been planning it for a long time. Additionally, Cohee stated that he was in a negative mental state and claimed to have various mental disorders.

Brian appeared to show little to no remorse for the crimes he committed, and gladly told police of the details of his murder. Cohee would even use markers to map out the place of the crime, and potential locations for the other parts of Barnes' body.

Trial

The trial of Brian Cohee began in January of 2023, where Cohee would plead not guilty by reason of insanity. The prosecution argued that during the interrogations, Cohee had confessed to the murders, and state psychologists determined that Cohee was not insane when the crime was committed.

But defense attorneys said that Cohee's mental health disorders, such as major depressive disorder and autism, were triggered upon seeing Barnes and that he was insane during the murder.

Parents Terri and Brian Cohee Sr. testify at their son’s trial.
Western Slope Now

Testimony of Brian Cohee's Parents

In an emotional few days in court, the parents of Brian Cohee—Terri and Brian Sr.—were called to the witness stand to testify.

Terri says her son had been taking medication since the age of five to treat his autism, ADHD, and anxiety. She recalled his fascination with the film The Silence of the Lambs, and that she discovered what prosecutors described as a "kill kit"—a backpack containing zip ties, a hammer, and duct tape.

Brian Sr. similarly recalled his son choosing inappropriate movies for family movie night, and both parents recounted how they asked Brian Jr. about the blood found on his car after it was pulled from the Colorado River. Brian told his father that he had cut his finger, and separately, he told his mother it was fake theatrical blood.

Brian Sr. remembered finding Warren Barnes' wallet in Brian's car after the accident, along with a knife and latex gloves.

Brian Cohee in court as his cuffs are removed to hear the verdict
The Daily Sentinel

Sentencing

The trial would last 12 days. After a two-day jury deliberation, they found Cohee guilty of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, and tampering with evidence.

Brian Cohee was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. He is currently incarcerated at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex in Chaffee County, Colorado.