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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

Teen in fatal stabbing pleads to assault

Shannon Cochran and his mother, Tracey Cochran.Courtesy photo (Courtesy photo / The Spokesman-Review)
Shannon Cochran and his mother, Tracey Cochran.Courtesy photo (Courtesy photo / The Spokesman-Review)

A teen arrested in a fatal stabbing will spend a few more months in jail after pleading guilty today to second-degree assault. 

Christopher E. Hooper, 19, (left) was arrested after the Jan. 16 stabbing death of Shannon Cochran, 22. Cochran is pictured above with his mother, Tracey.

Hooper was sentenced today to 12 months in prison with credit for time served in jail.

Police say Hooper was with Tylor T. Buttolph, 19, and Michael L. Summa, 20, and Summa fatally stabbed Cochran near Garland and Helena as he defended a friend in a fight over a drug debt. Hooper handed Summa the knife, prosecutors say. Hooper said he was high on methamphetamine at the time. Read more from the sentencing here.

Buttolph (left) and Summa (right) are charged with second-degree murder and remain in jail.

Buttolph's father, Daniel R. Wood, was convicted last year of first-degree rending criminal assistance for helping the defendants. Buttolph’s mother, Tanya Buttolph, also is charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance. Her trial is scheduled for May. 

After the stabbing, police say the men called Wood, who picked them up in a car. As the group climbed into Wood’s vehicle, Buttolph asked Summa “why he stabbed Shannon Cochran so many times,” according to court documents.

Past coverage:

Oct. 15, 2009: Warrant issued for teen in murder case

Jan. 26, 2009: Final suspects in homicide arrested

Jan. 21, 2009: Stabbing victim died standing up for friend



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