A Kingston, Ont., child is without a mother after she was allegedly brutally attacked by her partner on June 7, then succumbed to her injuries in hospital.
Police say Cara Cochrane, 37, died two weeks after she was sent to hospital in critical, unresponsive condition. Her injuries stemmed from an alleged attack by her partner, 35-year-old Brady James Maher, according to Kingston police.
“I’m devastated. Max is devastated,” said Carm Hunter, the father of Cochrane’s child, Max.
Hunter says the couple dated for several years before splitting up in December 2018. Soon after, he says, she began dating Maher, who police arrested on June 18 for alleged historic domestic assaults on Cochrane that police say occurred over the last two years.
As a result, Maher was charged with aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm.
Kingston Police said Wednesday that those charges could be upgraded to manslaughter, second degree or first degree murder.
“She is such a beautiful person; she’s such a nice person. She just got led down the wrong path,” said Hunter.
Since Cochrane’s death on June 21, those who had worked with her at ACCRA Golf Shafts took to social media posting photos and writing stories of their relationship.
One of those colleagues was Ken Thompson, who went one step further and created a GoFundMe page for Cochrane’s son, Max.
“When he grows up and is ready to take on university, or college, he won’t have to worry about the finances for that,” said Thompson.
As of Wednesday evening, the page has raised over 30,000.
The GoFundMe also describes that due to the brain damage Cara sustained, her family came to the tough decision to take her off life support.
“She was surrounded by her closest family and friends in her final hours and moments, with her sister May never leaving her side,” the GoFundMe read.
As for Max, his father tells Global News that he plans to reflect with his son on the times they spent together as a family.
“I owe it to my son Max to make sure that we get justice,” said Hunter.
Kingston police say they have already spoken to several people for the investigation, including friends and family, and have investigated the scene at 358 Queen Mary Rd. where the attack was alleged to happen.
Detectives are still looking for more information about the couple, the nature of their relationship and what happened the night of June 7 and the morning of June 8 before the alleged attack.
Those investigating the case are especially interested in any kind of communication the two might have had within that timeframe.
Anyone with information is asked to call Kingston police at 613-549-4660 or the Major Crime Unit at the following:
- Det. Sgt. Chad Parslow at cparslow@kingstonpolice.ca or 613-549-4600 ext. 6245
- Det. Const. Joel Fisher at jfisher@kingstonpolice.ca or 613-549-4660 ext. 6338
To provide tips anonymously, call the Kingston police general number and dial 0 and ask to remain anonymous.