Alexandria man confesses to killing missing neighbor, police say

A man who went missing in Alexandria, Virginia, was found dead in his neighbor’s closet, police say. Investigators said the suspect immediately confessed to killing the man when they knocked on his door to ask questions.

Joshua Cochran, 44, was reported missing on Monday. His family called police and asked them to check Cochran’s apartment on the 5700 block of Merton Court on Monday when they couldn’t get a hold of him, Alexandria police said.

Maintenance let officers into the apartment. Officers didn’t find Cochran or see anything out of the ordinary, police said.

Cochran’s family called police again on Tuesday. They said his car was still at his apartment, but he was nowhere to be found.

Police then escalated their search and found out Cochran had been at a bar and had drinks with another man, John Stremple III, who lives at the same apartment complex as Cochran.

When investigators knocked on Stremple’s door, he made a surprising admission, Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire said.

“It is an unexpected statement. When our detectives knocked on the door, they were just following up on the leads that had been established. And when they opened that door, the suspect gave an immediate confession,” McGuire said.

McGuire said officers then found Cochran dead inside a closet in Stremple’s apartment. Cochran suffered serious blunt force trauma to his head, police said.

Stremple, 63, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.