Ennis Cosby

Ennis William Cosby (April 15, 1969 – January 16, 1997), the only son of American comedian Bill Cosby, was murdered on January 16, 1997, near Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California. He was shot in the head by 18-year-old Mikhail Markhasev in a failed robbery attempt. Cosby was 27 years old.

Cosby's death resulted in significant media coverage, public outrage and an outpouring of support for the Cosby family. Seeking the $100,000 reward offered by the National Enquirer, an acquaintance of the shooter provided information that led to Markhasev's arrest in March 1997.

Subsequently, Markhasev was tried and convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery on July 7, 1998, and was sentenced to life in prison the following month. Markhasev maintained his innocence until 2001, when he admitted to committing the murder and asked that appeals in his case stop.

Biography Ennis William Cosby was born April 15, 1969, to actor and comedian Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille Cosby (née Hanks). He was their third child and only son. Cosby had four sisters: Erika (b. 1965), Erinn (b. 1966), Ensa (April 8, 1973 – February 23, 2018), and Evin (b. 1976). When Camille was about to give birth to Ennis, Bill joked during a television special: "It had better be a boy, you hear, Camille?" and Camille responded: "Right!" from offscreen.

Cosby was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California, Pennsylvania, and New York City. He attended George School, a private boarding school outside Philadelphia, where he played football, basketball, lacrosse, and track and field. He suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia, which caused low grades and friction with his parents, both of whom had advanced educational degrees.

Ennis' childhood is a focus of his father's 1982–83 stand-up release Himself, and he is also referred to in a routine from Eddie Murphy's 1987 concert film Raw. Theo Huxtable, Bill Cosby's television son on The Cosby Show, was based on Ennis, and this was reflected in storylines with Theo struggling in school until he was diagnosed with dyslexia. It was also written into the script that Bill's character, Cliff Huxtable, had been wrong in blaming Theo for his poor grades; this mirrored Bill Cosby's real life, as he had felt guilty for thinking Ennis had struggled academically because of a character flaw.

Cosby's dyslexia was diagnosed when he entered Morehouse College in Atlanta, where a friend encouraged him to be tested. He then spent a summer semester in Putney, Vermont, undergoing intensive academic training at Landmark College, a private university established exclusively for students with learning disabilities. Cosby later returned to Morehouse, where he made the dean's list when his grade point average jumped from 2.3 to more than 3.5.

Murder In January 1997, Cosby was in Los Angeles during the winter break from his classes at Columbia University. In the early hours of January 16, after visiting friends in the city, he was driving north on Interstate 405 through the Sepulveda Pass. At approximately 1:00a.m. PST, he exited the freeway onto Skirball Center Drive, to attend to a flat tire on his dark green Mercedes-Benz. He called his girlfriend, Stephanie Crane, who drove to meet him. She parked behind him to light the area with her headlights, while Cosby changed the tire.

She later testified that a man came to her window and said, "Open the door or I'll hurt you." Frightened, Crane drove away. After moving approximately away, she heard a gunshot and immediately drove back to Cosby's location. She saw a man running away and discovered Cosby lying on the ground, by the driver's side of his vehicle, lying in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the head.

Within 36 hours of his death, the high number of calls asking how Cosby's memory could be honored prompted his family to form the Ennis William Cosby Foundation.

Cosby was buried on January 19, 1997, in Shelburne, Massachusetts, after a funeral that was held at the family estate.

Media criticism National media received criticism for its early coverage of Cosby's murder. A news helicopter from local station KTLA had captured aerial footage of Cosby lying dead on the road on January 16, and included closeups of his body. The footage was broadcast by CNN later that day. This prompted outrage from CNN viewers, who had not been warned that graphic footage was about to be shown. CNN received hundreds of calls of complaint, and anchor Bobbie Battista apologized on air for broadcasting the footage. KTLA itself had not shown the footage, as it was deemed too graphic by the station's standards.

On January 18, two days after the murder, the Fox News Channel issued a statement saying its employees "will not stake out the home of actor Bill Cosby or attempt to contact any member of the Cosby family for comment about the death of Mr. Cosby's son." The family issued a statement saying, "We do not accept people coming to our homes, because this is a time we want to ourselves to find solutions to questions in our hearts."

Rosenberg also criticized Los Angeles CBS affiliate KCBS-TV; KCBS "Action News" for blurring out the face of the sole witness, Stephanie Crane. However, they had already shown footage of her at the scene, and journalist Harvey Levin had identified her as the witness.

Rewards Gray Davis, then Lieutenant Governor of California, announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Cosby's killer, which led to further media coverage and criticism for the offer of taxpayer funds as a reward. Republican Assemblyman Gary Miller called it a "transparent political stunt" by Davis, who later launched a successful bid for governor. Miller complained that the Cosby family was wealthy enough to offer its own reward, and that there were no similar rewards offered by the state to capture the killers of children of non-celebrities.

A crime victims advocacy group, the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau, also criticized the reward. "It's offensive," said Kelly Rudiger, executive director of the group. "There are many unsolved cases that could be solved with the incentive of cash. This has generated a lot of verbal aggression against Gray by our members. They're asking, 'Why Cosby and not Smith and Jones and Brown?'"

A $25,000 reward from the City of Los Angeles and a $15,000 reward from Los Angeles County were similarly withdrawn following the family's request. Tabloid newspapers The Globe ($200,000) and the National Enquirer ($100,000) also offered rewards for information that were not withdrawn, with the latter being claimed by an acquaintance of the shooter who provided information that led to Markhasev's arrest in March 1997. Markhasev, then 18, was born in Lviv, Soviet Ukraine, and emigrated to the United States with his mother in 1989. Markhasev was ultimately apprehended in March after the National Enquirer received information from an acquaintance of his. The grand jury convened three months after the murder. Markhasev was charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery. As Cosby was murdered during a robbery attempt, it elevated the charge to a capital offense. Because of these special circumstances, Markhasev would be eligible for a death penalty, if convicted.

Two acquaintances of Markhasev, Sara Peters and Michael Chang, testified against him at the hearing. Peters and her boyfriend, Eli Zakaria (who refused to testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself), were with Markhasev on the night of the murder and were high on cocaine and heroin.

Michael Chang and a friend later attempted to help Markhasev find the gun. In a statement to the grand jury Chang stated that Markhasev admitted to killing Cosby. Markhasev said that Cosby was frightened when he pulled the gun and demanded money, and that Markhasev shot Cosby because he was taking too long to give him money.

2001 confession In February 2001, Markhasev sent a letter to California Deputy Attorney General Kyle Brodie asking that all appeals in his case stop. Markhasev wrote to Brodie that he had killed Cosby and that he wanted to do the right thing by confessing. "Although my appeal is in its beginning stages, I don't want to continue with it because it's based on falsehood and deceit," wrote Markhasev, who is incarcerated at California State Prison, Corcoran. "I am guilty, and I want to do the right thing ... More than anything, I want to apologize to the victim's family. It is my duty as a Christian, and it's the least I can do, after the great wickedness for which I am responsible."