CASPER — While the Casper Police Department didn't initially identify who was shot and killed during an early Morning burglary response Monday, the esstranged husband of the woman who lived there told Cowboy State Daily it was his wife.
Aren Cobia stood in the door of the home at 1623 S. McKinley St. at about 10 a.m. Monday.
“There was not a burglar,” he said about the incident. “The cops shot her. I don’t know what happened. That’s all the information I have.”
That information was confirmed Monday afternoon by the Natrona County Coroner's Office, which identified the woman as 37-year-old Jody Renee Cobia.
"The investigation is ongoing and further information surrounding the circumstances of the death will be released at a later time," says a statement from the coroner's office.
Cobia said he was not ready to share more information about his wife. Court records show the McKinley Street home as an address for his estranged wife. It’s also the same address listed for both in a search of other public records.
Court records indicate they had separated in July 2024 and he was living at a different address.
The Casper Police Department told Cowboy State Daily it couldn’t release any other information beyond the initial public report, which only says that “a subject armed with a firearm” came into contact with officers.
An autopsy is pending and next of kin have been notified, the coroner's office reports.
Because the shooting involved Casper police officers, the investigation has been turned over to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
What Happened?
The Casper Police Department reports that on arrival at the house about 12:30 a.m., officers had contact with an individual with a firearm.
“During the encounter, shots were fired,” says the early morning statement CPD Capt. Jeremy Tremel released on the department's behalf. “The subject was transported to Wyoming Medical Center for medical treatment and subsequently pronounced deceased.”
Tremel said later Monday morning that the department was not releasing additional information, and any identification of the victim would come through the Natrona County Coroner’s Office.
He referred investigation questions to DCI.
Casper DCI Commander Matt Waldock told Cowboy State Daily that the department is not making any statements about the investigation yet.
“We are still investigating this,” he said. “I am not going to make any statements on it until we get through this investigation a little further.”
Waldock said he was not ready to answer questions about the type of weapon that may have been involved, whether the individual was inside or outside the home, or whether the person shot was the resident of the home.
A neighbor, Debby Matlack, said she was not at home when the incident occurred.
“This is usually a really quiet neighborhood,” she said.
Matlack said a woman with children had moved into the house last year. She said there were “situations” at the house in past involving the children and that the children had been taken away.
Court records show that Jody Cobia listed the 1600 block house as her address and that she was estranged from her husband, Aren Cobia.
Records show that Jody Cobia was served a summons of divorce on April 14. Court records also show that the couple’s three minor children were in the physical custody of Aren Cobia.
The Casper chief of police asked the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to investigate the incident, which Tremel in the news release said is "consistent with Casper Police Department's commitment to transparency," and which is standard practice across Wyoming.
"Pursuant to the established policies of the Casper Police Department, the involved officers have been placed on administrative leave," Tremel reported in the department’s statement.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
