Cherokee man convicted in 'Cathouse' deaths gives details

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty in the killing of a prostitute featured on the HBO series "Cathouse" and three other people has testified in the Oklahoma City trial of two other men charged in the case.

The Oklahoman reports that Jonathan Cochran, 37, testified Tuesday at the trial of Denny Phillips and Russell Hogshooter.

Both men charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy in the deaths of Brooke Phillips, Milagros Barrera, Jennifer Lynn Ermey and Casey Mark Barrientos. The other two murder charges are because Brooke Phillips and Barrerra were pregnant.

Hogshooter is accused of shooting Brooke Phillips, who was among the prostitutes featured on the cable network's show about the Moonlite BunnyRanch, a legal brothel near Carson City, Nevada.

Prosecutors say Denny Phillips ordered the killing of Barrientos and that the women were killed to eliminate witnesses. Phillips and Hogshooter have pleaded not guilty.

David Tyner, who is also accused of being involved in the slayings, pleaded guilty in the case and has testified that he killed Barrientos, Barrera and Ermey because Denny Phillips threatened his family.

Cochran testified that before he entered a home and saw several bodies, he heard muffled gunshots from inside. Cochran, who was given a 25-year prison sentence, also testified that he knew that the killings were going to take place, but that he "didn't verbally agree to kill anybody."

"I went there under the assumption that somebody else was going to murder someone. I didn't agree to the murders but I agreed to go down there," Cochran testified.

Cochran said that he saw three bodies in the home once he entered, and that Hogshooter told him to shoot a woman who prosecutors identified as Brooke Phillips. Cochran said he fired a couple of shots, purposely missing.

Defense attorneys argue that there are inconsistencies in Cochran's version of events. But prosecutors argue that significant details of what happened have stayed consistent with other testimony.