Joshua Cottrell set to enter plea in Kayla and Kennedi's deaths

The man accused of killing a mother and daughter in the small community of Morehead, KY, last year plans to face a judge an enter a plea on Tuesday.

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Rowan County has carried a heavy weight since September 2025, when a mother and her teenage daughter were found dead in their Morehead home. Tuesday, there's a new chapter in the case- and once again, the people who loved Kayla Blake and Kennedi McWhorter plan to show up for them.

Joshua Cottrell is scheduled to appear in Rowan County at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, for a plea hearing. Cottrell was indicted by a grand jury in October 2025 on murder charges and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the deaths of 37-year-old Kayla and her 13-year-old daughter Kennedi.

For the people who loved them, Tuesday's hearing is another moment to make sure Kayla and Kennedi aren't forgotten.

"We don't show up for him," Kayla's friend Amanda Music-Stepp told me shortly after the indictment last fall. "We show up for them- to let him know that they are loved, and this is not going to just be forgotten."

And it hasn't been.

Kayla was a registered nurse at a residential treatment facility for women, the kind of person her coworkers describe as pure light. "She was beautiful, and she was always laughing and would meet you with a hug," Amanda told me. "Always let us know how grateful she was to have us around." Fellow coworker Lacy Stacy put it simply: "You couldn't have a bad day around her."

Kennedi, 13, was described as every bit her mother's daughter- full of life, always looking out for others. She was a student at Rowan County Middle School with a passion for softball, thriving on competition and the bonds she built with her teammates.

Together, they left a mark on everyone who knew them.

The tagline that emerged from this community's grief says it all: Love like Kayla, live like Kennedi.

Kayla also had a young son, Ollie, who was not harmed. The community rallied around him in the aftermath, collecting toys and showing up in every way they could.

When Cottrell's own family heard the news of his arrest, they weren't shocked- they told me they feared something like this would happen. That interview, which you can read on Shay Informed, painted a complicated portrait of a man his relatives had been watching with dread for years.

As for what happens Tuesday- we'll know more once Cottrell appears before the judge. What won't change is this: the people who filled those bleachers for Kennedi, who worked beside Kayla, who wore purple in their honor- they'll be watching, and they'll keep saying their names.

I'll have updates following the hearing.

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