Family of Utah couple injured in London attack says they hold no ill will

Family of Utah couple injured in London attack says they hold no ill will

(Courtesy of Clint Payne)


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SALT LAKE CITY — The family of an injured Utah woman and her husband who was killed in the terror attack on London's Westminster Bridge last week say they hold no ill feelings toward the man responsible, but instead are focusing on the love and closeness within their family.

Gathered at New Scotland Yard in London for their first press conference since the attack, about a dozen family members of Melissa and Kurt Cochran said Monday their daughter and sister is healing as the world learns about her husband, a man they described as "larger than life."

"For those of us who knew Kurt in life know that Kurt would not bear ill feelings toward anyone, and we can draw strength as a family from that," said Clint Payne, Melissa Cochran's brother. "His whole life was an example of focusing on the positive. Not pretending that negative things don't exist, but not living our life in the negative, and that's what we choose to do also."

Kurt Cochran was one of four people killed in the March 22 attack, while as many as 50 more were injured.

The man responsible, U.K.-born resident Khalid Masood, was shot and killed by police. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Cochrans, of West Bountiful, were spending their 25th wedding anniversary in London and visiting the woman's parents, who are currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the London England Temple.

The couple had no set itinerary for the trip, the family said, but instead enjoyed simply soaking in the city.

"They loved it here, and Kurt repeatedly said he felt like he was at home," Clint Payne said.

The family declined to comment on the attacker or the assertion that he acted in the name of religion when he deliberately drove an SUV into pedestrians on the bridge and then stabbed a police officer outside Parliament.

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The family said that as they learned of the attack, pictures surfaced showing Kurt and Melissa Cochran were among the injured. When it was publicly announced that Kurt Cochran had been killed, condolences poured in from countless Utahns, the state's elected leaders, the West Bountiful and music communities the couple was so involved in, and President Donald Trump.

Shantell Payne, Melissa Cochran's sister-in-law, called the attack "horrible and gut-wrenching," but emphasized the family's wants the woman to heal rather than ask her to relive the tragedy.

Sandra Payne, Melissa Cochran's mother, says her daughter has a cut on her head, a broken rib and a badly injured leg.

"We're just so pleased with the progress she has made in the past few days. Her attitude is great right now, and I know that's because of all the love and the prayers that have come from all over the world," she said.

Melissa Cochran's father, Dimmon Payne, said the tragedy has brought his already tight-knit family even closer.

"Our family has always been close together, and we've had some wonderful, wonderful times together, with Missy and Kurt right in the middle of that," he said. "We just love and support each other so much, and I think it's even made us that much stronger."

Shantell Payne said her brother-in-law will especially be missed at family gatherings, where he was known to draw his nieces and nephews to him like a magnet.

"It was fun to just sit back on the couch and watch him on the floor wrestling with all the kids, and they would literally, you know, six or seven of them, be piled on top of him, and he just loved it," she said. "That's really going to be a tough one for our little family members."

The family also described Kurt Cochran's love for music and ability to nurture creativity in others. The couple ran a recording company, Onion Street Studio, and were regular contributors to Bountiful's Summerfest music festival.

Sara Payne-McFarland and her husband, Jason McFarland, recounted the immediate and boundless support Kurt Cochran gave them when they formed a band shortly after they married. At no cost, Cochran attended virtually every show and went to great lengths to promote the group, she said.

While her brother-in-law prefered to remain backstage or in the crowd, he joined the group onstage for their final performance, she said, donning a memorable vintage powder-blue tuxedo for the occasion.

"It was just so great to see him on stage and smiling with us," Payne-McFarland said. "That was just who he was, he was happy to share in what we had created, and he was so excited that we were able to accomplish something with our band."

McFarland said he and his wife were among many people who benefitted from Kurt Cochran's support.

"He was just so passionate about creativity and he was so supportive of people who put themselves out there creatively," McFarland said. "To me, he was a huge inspiration of how to lift other people up and help them be artistic and creative, and to help other people do what they love."

The family did not say when they expect Melissa Cochran to be released from the hospital. Dimmon and Sandra Payne said they will be released from their LDS mission and return to their home in Ogden soon. Their new mission will be to focus on their daughter and family.

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