A trans-identified male with a history of abusing animals has been found guilty of the April 2020 murder of his partner’s mother. Cohen Ellis “Vinn” Heath, 21, of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty last Friday to first-degree murder in the killing of nurse Bridget Kenner, and received the mandatory term of life in prison.
Heath manipulated Kenner’s then-16-year-old daughter, Emma, into stabbing her mother to death, the court heard. The pair, who both identify as transgender, were romantically involved at the time. Emma, who identifies as a boy named “Kenny,” was sentenced to 40 years in October for her role in the killing after she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. A plea bargain with 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutors required her to provide a statement regarding the circumstances of the killing.
Kenner testified in Heath’s trial, stating that Heath was responsible for planning the murder. The killing, Kenner said, was partly motivated by Heath’s intention to steal her mother’s belongings before fleeing together to Texas. Prior to the murder, Kenner’s mother was planning to move her to Florida.
“I didn’t want to, but I knew it would make Vinn happy, so that’s what I cared about,” Kenner testified, adding she felt she was in love with Heath at the time and that he told Kenner if she murdered her mother, “[he] would be proud of me.”
In her testimony, Kenner stated Heath told her she would be a real “man” if she killed her mother.
“If you really want to prove you’re a man, you will do this,” prosecutor Ben Hostetter said Heath had told the girl, though Kenner had initially insisted she’d chosen to commit the murder herself, believing she would receive a reduced sentence as a juvenile.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by local news outlet KRDO, a co-worker called the police when 44 year-old Bridget Kenner did not show up for work. When police entered the home, they found Kenner’s nude body in the living room with multiple stab wounds, along with a bloody knife.
The affidavit also states that Emma Kenner had a history of self-harm, and at the time of her arrest “there appeared to be several fresh cut wounds.” Just moments before the killing, Bridget Kenner had walked in on her daughter cutting herself, and an argument ensued.
Kenner told the court that shortly after she had stabbed her mother to death, Heath asked for permission to engage in necrophilia before molesting Bridget Kenner’s corpse while filming the acts. The video was presented to the court as evidence of Heath’s involvement.
Defense attorney Jennifer Cox questioned Kenner about alleged conversations about necrophilia which took place over chat application Discord, and Kenner said that the comments weren’t “real.”
After the killing, Heath rummaged through Bridget Kenner’s closet and stole her clothing and jewelry for himself.
At the time of Heath’s arrest, he was wearing Ms. Kenner’s rings and a pink sports bra that had belonged to her. Her personal items were presented as evidence to the court.
Prosecutor Hostetter also advised the court that Heath had told Kenner the night of the murder he wanted to “wake up to her screaming,” referring to Bridget Kenner.
During closing arguments Friday morning, Hostetter reiterated that Heath, who moved in with Kenner and her mother in December 2019, manipulated the girl into killing her mother through alternating encouragement, setting deadlines for her, and withholding attention from Kenner when she failed to follow through.
“Manipulation … is the weapon that Cohen Heath used to get Kenny to kill [her] mother that night,” Hostetter said. “Kenny murdered [her] mother, yes, but [she] didn’t do it alone — [she] wouldn’t have done it without the planning and encouragement of Cohen Heath.”
Prior to the death of Bridget Kenner, Heath was known to police. He’d previously been arrested for the torture and killing of his own mother’s cat, which he said he had done “because it would be easier” than murdering his mother. Heath mutilated the animal’s body so he could keep “mementos,” according to a report by The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region.
Heath had told investigators that he thought it was “kind of funny” to watch his mother look for the cat when he knew it was dead, and later presented the “mementos” to her in a gift bag.
Local news outlets reporting on the case have referred to Emma Kenner by male pronouns and to Cohen Heath with female pronouns. One news site has referred to Heath only as a “woman” in its headline.
Emma Kenner is being held at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, and Heath is currently detained in the El Paso County Jail awaiting transfer to his final facility. It is unknown at this time if the transfer will be to a women’s institution.
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