The murder of Cassie Cotta by Brent Cotta is highlighted in the latest episode of American Monster on Investigation Discovery.
On December 30, 2011, Cassie went to a party in Alma, Arkansas, and was never seen alive again. When she failed to show up for work at Perry’s Place in Fort Smith the following day, her mother, Pearl Cook, reported the 24-year-old missing.
Investigators questioned Brent for hours about what happened to his wife, and they said he gave multiple accounts of what took place. When investigators confronted him about the inconsistencies in his stories, he confessed to murdering Cassie.
He told law enforcement officers that when his wife returned home from attending a party, they got into an argument. It escalated, and he ended up strangling her to death before dumping her body off Gun Club Road in rural Crawford County.
Four days after Cassie was reported missing, Brent led police to her body. Her purse and cell phone were also found at the scene.
Before he confessed to Cassie’s murder, he helped pass out flyers He also spoke with the media and told them that he is focused on bringing his wife home safely.
In the 40/29 News video, he refers to Cassie as “colorful. irritable, and blunt. He added that “she’s beautiful. She’s perfect. She’s everything you could want in someone. She’s got every little quality.”
Cassie and Brent had been married for six months, and their marriage was already in trouble. A relative stated that the couple had several domestic abuse incidents during their two-year relationship.
Brent was arrested and booked into the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center on a $500,000 cash bond.
He was charged with first-degree murder.
In 2012, he pled guilty to murdering his wife and was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison with 10 years suspended.
American Monster — An Open Relationship, airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.