HIGH POINT, N.C. — A jury has found a man guilty of killing and concealing the body of a High Point University student in 2021.
Michael Cadogan was found guilty of second-degree murder, concealing and failing to report a death on Wednesday, July 24.
He is now facing 20 to 30 years in prison.
Cadogan was arrested in Carter County, Tennessee in 2021 after investigators said they found the body of 19-year-old HPU student Gianna Delgado in his car.
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.
WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT:
It was an emotional day in court on July 17. Pictures were shown of the car that the suspect was driving when arrested. It showed the tote in the backseat of the car and Gianna Delgado’s body inside. A lot of people in the courtroom were crying. The suspect’s family was present in court. A couple of them had to step out because they were so emotional. Delgado’s family was also crying and emotional. The images were very hard to look at.
The state called one of Cadogan’s former coworkers to the stand. The woman said the two worked at Amazon together. The woman said she was at Cadogan’s apartment four days before the murder. On June 21, the day of the murder, the woman said Cadogan called her and asked if she could help move something. The woman asked why to which Cadogan did not respond, so the woman said no. She found out later that evening what Cadogan was accused of doing.
The defense is trying to get Cadogan a lesser sentence in this trial. A couple of law enforcement officials from Carter County, Tennessee were called to the stand Wednesday. The defense seemed to focus on the fact that when Cadogan was located at Fish Springs Marina, he cooperated with deputies. He didn’t try to run or resist arrest. We also learned that Delgado’s dog was found alive in the car at the time of the arrest. No drugs or weapons were found on Cadogan at the time of arrest.
The state presented boxes of evidence, including the plastic tote bag that Delgado's body was found in.
A detective with the High Point Police Department was brought in as well. He said he was overwhelmed to discover the amount of blood found in the High Point apartment where Delgado was killed.
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.