GOSHEN, Ind. (WNDU) – An Elkhart man was found guilty Friday of murder in the shooting death of a convicted sex offender at a local motel last year.
Nicholas Stanley, 36, was convicted of killing Allen Cogswell, 35, at the Daylite Inn on Cassopolis Street on June 24, 2025.
While the jury was deliberating, Stanley admitted to a firearm enhancement that carries up to 20 additional years, according to Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney Vicki Becker.
Cogswell was released from prison in May 2025. Court records show Stanley is a close family member of one of Cogswell’s past victims.
According to our reporting partners at The Goshen News, Stanley took the stand Thursday in his own defense and testified that he initially planned only to confront Cogswell and beat him up. Stanley said seeing Cogswell through the motel window caused his brain to “explode like a tsunami” and led him to decide to kill him.
“I decided that I had to do what I had to do to protect my (family); I had to kill him,” Stanley said under oath.
According to The Goshen News, Stanley said he went to his car, grabbed a shotgun, knocked on Cogswell’s motel room door and shot him twice.
The Goshen News reports the state presented rebuttal and cross-examination evidence, including location data showing Stanley left his phone at home and the distance he walked to retrieve the gun. Prosecutors argued the evidence showed planning rather than an uncontrollable, impulsive reaction.
The judge ruled against allowing voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense under “sudden heat.” According to The Goshen News, the judge agreed with prosecutors that Stanley had time for cool reflection when he walked back to his vehicle to retrieve the shotgun before returning to shoot Cogswell.
Stanley’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22.
Stay up to date on local news with WNDU on-air and online. Be sure to download the 16 News Now App and follow our YouTube page as we continue to bring you the latest news coverage.
Copyright 2026 WNDU. All rights reserved.
