As told to, recorded and transcribed by Marlea Cottrill. Audio recording and notarized statement is on file.
I, Ruth Mitchell, present the following affidavit as my true testimony to the events regarding the death of Willard Cottrill 10/20/10 and days immediately before and after.
On Tuesday, 10/19/10
The day before they come in here because your dad had a doctor appointment and they tried to get him to go to the doctor and go and he told em “no” and Venita and Melvin both told him that if he didn’t get off the pot that they were going to yank him off the pot and he said “I’m not going and you’re not jerking me off of nothing”. So after they left he told me he said “Well I showed them didn’t I? I’m gonna do what I wanna do not what they wanna do.” And then that night around 5:30-6:00 was when Venita went in and laid on the bed with a book and she came out of the bedroom and she told me “I think I’m gonna go to Melvin and Freda’s because I don’t think dad wants me here”, and she left.
The next morning your dad asked me where Venita was and I said “She’s over at Melvin’s and Freda’s” and he said “Well that’s good she went over to take care of her dad and mom”. Then he told me “Ruth, I don’t want to scare you and I don’t want to upset you, but I have something I need to tell you.” And I said “What is that?” and he said “They aren’t going to let me live.” And I said “What are you talking about?” and he said “Venita and Freda is going to kill me.” They came in about noon because thats when they had Melvin’s birthday party and they had cake and ice cream and pop and all kinds of stuff and they cut them a piece of cake and took it in the front room and Venita said “Don’t this look good dad? Shame you can’t have any.” Then he told her to get piece of paper and pencil and he wanted her to write down what went where and who got what and she started writing. When he mentioned the deer head went to you she quit writing and came into the table and went bawling and she said “why, that deer head should have went to me not Marlea” and then your dad asked her, “Venita” he said, “ if I’m going out how long do I have?” She said “not long daddy, not long were’ gonna take real good care of you.” Then they left and I’d say it was about 1:30-2:00 was when they came back with the morphine and that hospice woman. But when they left out to go get that stuff and get that woman, that’s when your dad called me to the bed and told me they were not going to let him live that Freda and Venita was going to kill him. And he told me “Ruth, if I’m going out I’m going out with dignity go in there and get me a beer”. I went and got him a beer opened it up, he took two drinks and after that was when they started forcing it (the spoon of morphine and mixed drugs) in his mouth. About 2:00 or little after was when they came back with the hospice nurse and the morphine.
Then Venita asked the hospice nurse to show them how to use it and she said No, I cannot give it and I cannot show you because I’m unauthorised and all she done was set on the couch and draw pictures and Venita took 2 Xanax, an Oxycodone, crushed them all up on a spoon, put morphine on top of that and then put pudding on the top of that and she tried to force it into his mouth and he kept turning his head side to side and she hollered for Freda and that’s when Freda went in and held his head while Venita forced it in his mouth. They did it several different times clear up until he took the last dosage. He was just limber. When Freda said he was gone, Venita asked Freda, she said “My god, what do we do?” She said “do we call anybody?” Freda said “No, lets’ get everything cleaned up, get him out of here and get it all over with and then we’ll call.”
Then they called Terry Ellyson – Terry did not come, Terry’s son came, he came in the living room, he talked to Venita, Freda , Carole and the hospice woman and nobody examined him or nothing. And the son went out and got the gurney and brought it in, wrapped your dad in a red velvet blanket, took him over on the gurney and out the door they went and Venita went in the bedroom and picked up the lockbox and she said “I can’t stay here anymore, dad’s not here anymore, and I’m going over to Melvin and Freda’s”. Nobody said bye kiss my hind end or nothing, they just left.
The next morning here come Melvin and Fredas brother richard from Virginia, they come in here and they took every one of your dad’s guns out of here, carried them all out of here and took them to Melvins house. Well then in a little bit here come Melvin, Richard, Freda and Venita they sit on chairs in there in the living room, Venita was going through your dads albums and pictures, Freda said “I would like to have this one I would like to have that one” and Venita said “take what ever you want it’s here for the taking” and then they split everything and then they left and then when they came back it was Freda, Venita, Michael Murphy and I think Melvin and that’s when Venita shoved me in my room and told me you will do what we want we will see that you don’t have nothing not even a place to live. That was when you and Dianna (Holmes) was here and Dianna called the cops.
They left right after they took the pictures and everything.