Joshua Cottrell pleads guilty to murdering Rowan Co. mother and her teenage daughter in their home

Joshua Cottrell received two life sentences without parole for the stabbing deaths of Kayla Blake and her 13-year-old daughter.

Content warning: The following article contains disturbing details of violence.

MOREHEAD, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Joshua Cottrell pleaded guilty to all counts in the stabbing deaths of a Rowan County mother and her 13-year-old daughter.

Cottrell received two life sentences in prison without parole, plus an additional five years for tampering with physical evidence in the murders of 37-year-old Kayla Blake and Kennedi McWhorter, media partner LEX 18 in court reported.

Cottrell initially pleaded not guilty in November before changing his plea.

The investigation began in September 2025 when Morehead Police Department dispatch received a 911 call around 11 a.m. for a welfare check on a co-worker who did not report to work.

First responders arrived at the home near Park Hills Drive and discovered Blake and McWhorter dead. A complaint warrant detailed that Cottrell stabbed Blake and McWhorter.

Kentucky State Police detectives found Blake dead in a back bedroom and McWhorter dead across the hall. The warrant noted Blake appeared to have been stabbed and bludgeoned.

Neighbors reportedly witnessed Cottrell at the home on Sept. 18. The warrant detailed that Cottrell moved the bodies and law enforcement found him with blood on his clothes.

Authorities located Cottrell at a Paducah area hospital at around 2 p.m. on Sept. 19. Cottrell was treated, released, and taken to the McCracken County Jail.

He was later booked into the Montgomery County Detention Center on the night of Sept. 24.