Kayla Danielle Blake of Morehead, Rowan County, Kentucky, United States and her daughter Kennedi Grace McWhorter have died. The former was 37 and latter was 13.
Kennedi McWhorter
McWhorter was born in Willard, Carter County, Kentucky to Mark McWhorter and Blake. Originally from Grayson, Carter County, Mark married Mary Susan McWhorter on July 14, 2006.
Kennedi attended Rowan County Middle School in Morehead. She was a member of the Little League 11U Softball All-Stars team, which was honored during a council meeting in Morehead on August 12, 2024 for being the state champion.
Kayla Blake
Blake married Austin T. Blake, who is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Both she and Mark attended East Carter County High School in Grayson.
Kayla also attended Ashland Community and Technical College in Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College in Rio Grande, Ohio, USA.
In January 2022, Kayla joined the Addiction Recovery Institute of America (ARIA) in Morehead as a registered nurse. On December 2, 2023, she started dating Joshua William Cottrell, then 43, of Morehead.
On June 5, 2024, Cottrell updated his Facebook profile picture with a photo of himself with Kayla. On July 12, 2024, she update her Facebook profile picture with a photo of herself with him.
Joshua Cottrell
On June 17, 2003, Cottrell killed Guin “Richie” Phillips in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky. The victim was 36.
On March 1, 2005, Cottrell was sentenced to 20 years. In July 2007, he was eligible for parole.
On the morning of September 19, 2025, a coworker of Kayla called 911 after going to check on her at her residence on Spring Street in Morehead because she had not shown up to work. At around 11:00 a.m., Rowan County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Kayla and Kennedi inside the residence.
Rowan County coroner John P. Northcutt pronounced Kayla and Kennedi dead at the scene. Cottrell was identified as the suspect in the killing of the two victims.
At 2:00 p.m., Kentucky State Police troopers found Cottrell at a hospital in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky. After he was treated and released from the hospital, he was booked into the McCracken County Jail in Paducah and charged with two counts of murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
CONAN Daily 
I’m wondering why would she even have an relationship with this guy. Did she even know about his past?
He was convicted of manslaughter in the early 2000s. He should have been charged with first degree murder in my opinion.
He was eligible for parole two or three years after he was sentenced. This murder took place in Elizabethtown, Ky.. He had killed a gay man that he was associated with.
If he had gotten what he deserved maybe, just maybe those two innocent people would be alive today.
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