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CNN 20: Conviction in the Ennis Cosby Case, July 7, 1998

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED JURY FOREWOMAN: We, the jury, who have entitled action, find the defendant, Michael Markhasev, guilty of the crime of murder of a human being, Ennis Cosby, a felony in the first degree.

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CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What made it an interesting case, of course, was that it turned out that the victim was the son of Bill Cosby. And being as a beloved figure as Bill Cosby is to the country, everybody all of a sudden took an interest way beyond that which would normally have been afforded a shooting.

There were stories at the time of the shooting about whether or not it involved gangs, whether or not it involved drugs, whether or not it involved all sorts of other tawdry things, the kind of speculation and rumor that is bound to come up, especially in a homicide involving a celebrity, or in this case the son of a celebrity. None of which turned out to be true.

It was regrettably a -- with the key exception that the victim was the son of a celebrity -- it was very sadly a very conventional, you know, robbery turned homicide. And Bill Cosby, as I recall, kept a very low profile on this until the trial, and then of course the trial led to the conviction of the young man that shot Ennis Cosby.

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