Mother, teenage daughter killed in double murder identified; suspect arrested, KSP says

ROWAN COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A double murder investigation is underway, and a person of interest is in custody, according to the Rowan County coroner.

The Rowan County Coroner’s Office says the Morehead Police Department Dispatch got a 911 call at around 11 a.m. Friday, from a person who performed a welfare check on a coworker who did not report to work that morning.

First responders arrived at the scene on Spring Street off Flemingsburg Road, the north end of Rowan County, and discovered the bodies of 37-year-old Kayla Blake and her daughter, 13-year-old Kennedi McWhorter.

Kentucky State Police’s initial investigation determined the suspect as Joshua W. Cottrell, 44, of Morehead.

KSP says troopers located Cottrell at a Paducah area hospital at around 2 p.m. Friday.

He was treated, released and charged with two counts of Murder and one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence.

He is lodged at the McCracken County Jail.

The investigation is ongoing.

Neighbors say it’s a quiet neighborhood on Spring Street South.

Many are shocked and heartbroken for this family.

“Really great family. I mean, our interactions, it wasn’t much, my daughter played softball with her a couple times,” neighbor Robert Suarez III says.

“The mother took pictures of our daughter and like gave them to us, really, really sweet lady.”

Suarez says his daughter is struggling with the loss of her classmate.

“My daughter goes to school with her and it kind of hit her really hard,” he says.

This is a developing story.