TRUMBULL COUNTY Bizarre case ends in no indictments

By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Trumbull County grand jury has declined to indict a woman who said she shot and killed one of the two men who had kidnapped her.
The grand jury decided Thursday that Lisa Cogar, 37, of Dickey Avenue N.W., should not face a charge of voluntary manslaughter.
The grand jury also chose not to indict Timothy R. Williams, 33, Main Street, Kinsman, on a charge of kidnapping.
Cogar had told police that Williams and his friend Brock Engle, 26, kidnapped her Sept. 8 when she was walking on Olive Street in Warren.
Cogar and Williams are being held in the Trumbull County jail.
Sheriff Thomas Altiere said if there are no other pending charges, both will be released from the lockup once his department receives the court paperwork.
No specifics
Chris Becker, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said he cannot comment specifically on the case because grand jury proceedings are secret.
Trumbull County deputies said Cogar told them she shot Engle once in the back, after he instructed her that if she didn't shoot him, he would kill her before turning the gun on himself.
Cogar told deputies that Engle, of Johnston, and Williams took her to Engle's home and then to a wooded area off state Route 87 in Kinsman.
After arriving in the wooded area, Williams left, Altiere said.
Members of Engle's family said they did not believe Cogar's story. They said Engle was not violent and had no reason to want to commit suicide.
sinkovich@vindy.com