John D. Cochran Case Data
Compiled by Rob Warden
Copyright © 2006, Center on Wrongful Convictions
Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern University School of Law
Crime date: October 16, 1888
Jurisdiction: Wabash County, Illinois
Crime: Murder
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Race or ethnicity: Presumed Caucasian
Arrest date: Unknown (after October 21, before end of November, 1888)
Victim: John Buchenberger
Victim’s occupation: Businessman
Victim’s gender: Male
Victim’s race or ethnicity: White (of German ancestry)
Victim’s age: Probably in 40s or 50s (he was a Civil War veteran)
How defendant became a suspect: Buchenberger had met with Cochran in Mount Carmel
Principal evidence of defendant’s guilt: Testimony of Charles Reese, a horse thief who claimed Cochran had admitted the crime
Principal defense: Claim of framing by Reese and possibility that Buchenberger’s death was a suicide (Buchenberger was found unconscious, shot once in the head, lying in a shed, his own revolver by his side)
Type of trial: Jury
Conviction date: November 1888
Convicted of: Murder
Sentence: Life
Appellate record: None
Basis for exoneration: Buchenberger’s wife belatedly produced a suicide letter written by her husband saying he “was about to part from the world of mortals and dwell with the heavenly father.” Mrs. Buchenberger received the letter on October 20, 1888, the day after her husband’s death. It was not known to the defense at the time of Cochran’s trial.
Legal form of exoneration: Pardon by Illinois Governor Joseph W. Fifer
Release date: August 6, 1890
Days of incarceration: 638 (estimated)
Prior record: Unknown (unlikely none)
Compensation: None
