The Arkansas man accused of fatally shooting a Knox man Friday night at a rural North Judson home remains jailed without bond. Edward Blackburn entered a plea of not guilty during his initial hearing this morning in Starke Circuit Court in connection with Cord Colgrove’s death. He advised Judge Kim Hall his family intends to hire an attorney to represent him.
Court documents indicate Blackburn shot Colgrove in the head in front of two witnesses and co-defendant Augusta Hadden. She’s charged with assisting a criminal after allegedly throwing her cell phone out of Blackburn’s truck after the shooting in an apparent attempt to hamper efforts to locate them. Hadden’s bond is set at $200,000 surety. Richard Ballard was appointed her public defender.
Colgrove was a passenger in a friend’s vehicle, eastbound on County Road 400 South approaching 100 West when they spotted Blackburn’s red Dodge truck heading west. Colgrove reportedly told the driver to turn around and follow the truck, saying it’s what the guy drives that his ex-girlfriend, Augusta Hadden, has been messing around with.
The truck pulled into a lane that runs south off of 400 West into a subdivision, and the other vehicle followed. Colgrove reportedly got out of his friend’s truck and walked toward Blackburn’s vehicle. That’s when Blackburn allegedly shot Colgrove in the face. Colgrove’s friend recognized Hadden in the truck and said she screamed “Cord” after the shot was fired.
The truck backed up and struck a few trees before pulling onto eastbound 400 South and speeding away.
The responding officers found Colgrove on his back with blood on his face and the back of his head. He was pronounced dead by Starke County EMS.
Det. Sgt. Dave Combs of the Knox City Police Department later got a tip from a man who said Hadden and a man he knows as Irush were at his house the previous week. He advised Cord’s name came up, and the Irush, who was carrying a gun, put his hand on his hip and said, “When I meet up with Cord it’s gonna go bad.”
A short time later, investigators at the Starke County Sheriff’s Office got an anonymous call advising the suspect was named Edward Blackburn from Houston, Texas, who currently lives in Arkansas. The caller also stated she believes Hadden is in grave danger and would never have agreed to go with Blackburn on her own, especially after Cord had been shot.
Investigators learned Blackburn has an Arkansas driver’s license and is wanted by the U.S. Marshals. He’s also reportedly a member of the Aryan Circle in Texas and is considered armed and dangerous.
The Indiana State Police successfully tracked Hadden’s phone, which was recovered along a side road in a rural area of Fulton County.
Blackburn and Hadden were arrested Saturday at a hotel in Mishawaka. Court documents indicate they met up with a friend of Blackburn’s late Friday night at the Elkhart Walmart, drove Blackburn’s truck to Michigan and set it on fire before returning to Indiana and checking into the hotel.
Blackburn’s friend told investigators he felt Hadden was there on her own and was not being held against her will.
Hadden refused to talk to investigators with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, who say she cried when they told her Colgrove was dead. She sobbed through her court appearance and told Judge Hall, quote, “I’m a mess over all of this.”
Hadden faces between one and six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if she’s convicted.
Blackburn is looking at between 45 and 65 years in prison and maximum $10,000 fine.
