HIGH POINT, N.C. — Closure is coming for a family who lost their daughter in a brutal murder.
The trial for the man accused of killing 19-year-old High Point University student, Gianna Delgado, started on Tuesday, July 16.
Michael Cadogan was arrested in Carter County, Tennessee in 2021 after investigators said they found a human body in his car.
He faces charges of first-degree murder and concealing and failing to report a death.
A family representative for the Delgado family said the cause of death was blunt force trauma and strangulation.
Back in May 2023, a judge decided that the death penalty was not on the table.
Maximum punishment in this case is life in prison without the opportunity of parole.
WHAT HAPPENED:
Court appearance documents show a woman called the Kingsport Police Department about Cadogan carrying a dead body in his car.
The woman said she called the police after she received a call from the accused killer. In the reports, it shows she said he admitted to killing Delgado and Facetimed her to show what he had done. The documents also said Cadogan told her he went to Lowe's to buy a large tub to place the body in.
He also asked for help getting rid of Delgado's body and car, the document said. Cadogan told the woman he called to meet at a marina in Carter County, Tennessee, where he planned to put both the car and body into Watauga Lake, according to the report.
This information is how law enforcement knew the whereabouts to find and arrest Cadogan.
The High Point Police Department contacted the Carter County Sheriff's Office with information that Michael Cadogan may be transporting a body through Carter County.
A deputy saw Cadogan's car, stopped it, and took him into custody.
Although High Point police have said there are no prior reports filed between the couple, experts said this case shows all the signs of domestic violence.