FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2018
COVINGTON—District Attorney Warren Montgomery reports that Margaret Stockstill, 33, of Franklinton, was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday (August 16) for killing her best friend’s fiancé. A St. Tammany Parish jury found Stockstill guilty of second degree murder for the crime after a weeklong trial before District Judge Peter J. Garcia in June.
Stockstill fatally shot Cody Couch, 27, on April 14, 2017, during an argument at the home he shared with his fiancée, Kristin Copeland. Copeland testified during the trial that she became angry when Couch left the house earlier that evening and did not respond to her repeated calls and text messages.
She told him in a text message that that the relationship was over and that she was burning his clothes. She sent a photo of burning clothes. When Couch returned home around 10 p.m., an argument broke out between him and the two women, who had once shared a brief romantic relationship. Stockstill ultimately fired a fatal shot, striking Couch in the lower abdomen.
Couch’s sister, Tina, read a statement from the couple’s 9-year-old son: “The hardest times are on Father’s Day, my birthday, and times when other kids have their dads around,” he said. “I have a hard time at night ‘cause I miss him so much.”
Other family members also gave statements about the impact of Couch’s death on them.
Garcia denied Stockstill’s request for a new trial. Assistant District Attorneys Blair Alford and Elizabeth Authement prosecuted the case.