Who did Brian Cohee murder? Why did Colorado killer choose his victim?

In February 2021, teenager Brian Cohee attacked, murdered and dismembered 69-year-old Warren Barnes, a homeless man who was sleeping under a bridge in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Cohee’s crime came to light when his parents found body parts belonging to Barnes - including his head - in their son’s bedroom closet.

New doc covers Cohee’s killing of Warren Barnes

The gruesome case is the subject of a new documentary, “Parents Discover Teen Son’s Horrifying Secret”, which was released on the Explore With Us YouTube channel late last month.

The documentary, which has already been viewed over 11 million times, includes extensive footage - some of it previously unseen - from law enforcement’s investigation into the killing.

With a running time of just over 100 minutes, “Parents Discover Teen Son’s Horrifying Secret” takes an in-depth look at the murder “from an educational, legal and psychological perspective”, EWS says.

Why did Cohee murder Barnes?

On 1 March 2021, two days after Cohee carried out the murder, the then-19-year-old’s mother, Terri, called 911 after discovering Barnes’ head and hands in her son’s closet.

During her conversation with the dispatcher, which features in EWS’ documentary, Terri said of Brian: “He has had a little bit of a fascination with the morbid. He was channelling it, I thought, into becoming a crime scene investigator. But not so much.”

Arrested soon after Terri’s 911 call, Cohee readily confessed to killing Barnes, recounting the murder in great detail. He told investigators that he had targeted Barnes because he believed the man’s disappearance would attract little attention.

“Police, they don’t seem to care as much about high-risk individuals: homeless people, prostitutes, etc,” Cohee explained. “So I was deliberately looking for someone who lived that type of life.”

‘Reading man’ Barnes known in community

However, Cohee was wrong to assume that Barnes’ absence would be met with indifference. His victim was a familiar figure to many members of the Grand Junction community, and he was soon reported missing by Monique Lanotti, the owner of a local bridalwear store.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports that Barnes was known in the city for his “outgoing personality and his love of reading”. Some businesses - including Lanotti’s - would put out a chair for him so he could sit and read.

Indeed, Barnes was referred to by Grand Junction residents as ‘the reading man’, The Colorado Sun adds. The Sun’s Nancy Lofholm reveals: “Passersby would stop to chat about what he was reading and, if they bid him, ‘Have a good day,’ he invariably responded, ‘And you also.’”

In November 2021, a memorial to Barnes was unveiled in downtown Grand Junction. An iron and wood installation crafted by the artist Tim Navin, who himself was once homeless, the memorial features a chair sitting under a tree, with books lying on the seat.

In tribute to Barnes’ characteristic reply to people he spoke to, one book bears the title “And You Also”.

Cohee sentenced to life in prison

In February 2023, Cohee was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, for killing Barnes.

Although he had confessed to the crime, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at his trial - but jurors were not persuaded. After deliberating for nearly two days, they found him guilty of first-degree murder. Cohee was also convicted on two counts of tampering with a dead body, and one count of tampering with evidence.

As Terri left the courtroom in the wake of the verdict, Western Slope Now reports that she said: “I would just like to express our family’s deep and sincere sympathies to the community and family of Mr Barnes.”

Where is Cohee serving his sentence?

Now 22, Cohee is incarcerated at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex, according to the Colorado Department of Corrections. A facility that can house around 1,300 inmates, the prison is located in Chaffee County, Colorado.