Auto shop owner found slain at work

The motive may have been robbery, police said.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — The wife of the owner of Cotton Automotive Service on McGuffey Road found her husband shot to death inside the business Thursday night.

John A. Cotton, 66, of Early Road, was found in a pool of blood in his office around 9:40 p.m. Thursday, shot either in the chest or back.

The motive may have been robbery, said Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives. He said the victim had been dead for several hours, adding the time of death will be determined by the coroner.

Centorame said there were no apparent signs of forced entry. He described Cotton as a reputable, well-liked businessman who’d operated the automotive shop for a long time.

Detective Sgt. Rick Spotleson, lead investigator, was out Friday interviewing witnesses. Centorame said there are a lot of people to talk to in order to determine who last had contact with the victim.

First officers on the scene learned from Patsy Cotton that her husband left for work at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and she last spoke to him at 11 that morning. She told police that he often worked late at the shop, sometimes until 11 p.m.

A close friend of the victim’s who stopped by the East Side business at 4 p.m. Thursday thought it odd that Cotton didn’t answer the door or his phone.

The friend told police that it wasn’t like Cotton to leave the metal gate open if he wasn’t in the building.

Cotton’s car was in the lot, another thing that seemed out of place to the friend.

At 6:30 p.m., the friend called Cotton’s cell phone and again got no response.

He then called Cotton’s home and left a message on the answering machine.

At 8 p.m., Cotton’s friend drove to the shop again, finding the lights on, and knocked again.

He called Cotton’s wife when no one answered the door, and she agreed to meet him at the business with spare keys.

Cotton is the city’s 14th homicide victim of the year. There were 11 homicides at this time last year.