TIPPECANOE COUNTY (Aug. 21, 2014) – Cody Cousins, the man accused of fatally stabbing and shooting Purdue student Andrew Boldt, pleaded guilty to murder in the case Thursday morning in a Tippecanoe County courtroom.
Boldt was killed on January 21 in the Electrical Engineering Building on campus.
“It was time to make a decision of what we wanted to do. My client wanted to plead guilty so he plead guilty,” Attorney Kirk Freeman said.
Cousins entered a preliminary plea of not guilty in January. He had asked for a change of venue and new representation. In May, Cousins’ attorney filed a notice that he planned to use an insanity defense. Two mental health evaluations had been ordered by the court.
Freeman said his client admitted in court today that he suffered from the bipolar disorder.
Cousins sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.
“I think you are looking at a mitigated sentence. You have one prior misdemeanor. You have an acceptance of responsibility. You do have mental health issues. Perhaps they don’t rise to the level of insanity, but I believe they should be used as a mitigation,” Freeman said.
Tippecanoe Prosecutor Pat Harrington said Cousins could receive treatment for any mental illnesses, while he serves time behind bars. The judge will decide Cousins sentence, after he hears evidence presented by both sides.
“The sentencing will be obviously another important step of this case because that’s where, if the defense elects to put on evidence of mental illness- that’s when it’ll be put out there for the public to hear,” Harrington said.
Harrington said Cousins could be sentenced between 45 to 65 years for murder.
While Cousins admitted he murdered Boldt using a gun and knife, the motive behind the crime remains unclear.
“In the criminal court, we can never prove why. One person knows why they do things. All we have to do (going by) that date and time (is) did he knowingly, intentionally commit the crime of murder,” Harrington said.
