Warren Barnes (May 19, 1951 – February 27, 2021)^[1] was a 69-year-old homeless man living in Grand Junction, Colorado, United States. He was murdered and dismembered on February 27, 2021, by 19-year-old Brian Cohee Jr. while sleeping near Crosby Avenue below a highway bridge. Cohee confessed to the police and was arrested on March 1, 2021. On February 3, 2023, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Warren Barnes was a 69-year-old homeless man living in the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. He was known around the downtown community to read books and sit on a chair most of his time near Monique's Bridal, a wedding shop in downtown Grand Junction. He was named "The Reading Man" by some of the storeowners due to his interest in books.^[2][3] People described Warren as a "gentle" and "quiet" individual. The merchants and employees of nearby stores gave him books, occasional pastries, peaches, and drinks.^[2][4]

Brian Cohee Jr. was 19 years old at the time of the murder.^[5] He was born on January 10, 2002.^[6]

Prior to the murder, Cohee has been experiencing mental problems and persistent thoughts about murder.^[7][8] During his interrogation, he said that he wanted to kill a homeless person or a prostitute, believing that their disappearance would go unnoticed.^[8] He routinely drove around at night surveilling homeless encampments.^[9] Cohee was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of five.^[10] In 2019, his mother took him to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation hospital where doctors diagnosed him with autism.^[11] In 2018, he killed a cat and kept its head in his house for three days before discarding it.^[12] Due to his alleged fascination with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Cohee was nicknamed "Dahmer" at the high school he attended.^[13]

On March 1, 2021, at approximately 1:48 p.m., a 911 call was made from Cohee's parents to report a decomposing human head and hands found in his bedroom closet.^[14][15] As police officers arrived at their house, Brian Cohee approached them and immediately confessed to murdering Barnes: "I've always wondered what murder felt like".^[16][17] He told officers the victim's name, the weapon used to kill him, and the location of the murder.^[8]

Cohee was detained and taken to the police station for interrogation. He told the interrogator that as he was driving around on February 27, he saw Warren sleeping on the ground. He exited his car, put on three layers of gloves, and started stabbing Warren with a knife. According to him, before he died, Warren was yelling, "What are you doing, why, why?" in a panic.^[7] He described himself as "growling" and making "animalistic noises" as he was stabbing Warren.^[8] After killing him, he cut off his hands and head and placed them into plastic bags before putting them in his car. He drove them home and hid them, then cleaned the blood from his knife and car and went to sleep.^[18][19] Cohee compared himself to serial killer Edmund Kemper.^[20] He confessed to traveling back to the crime scene and unsuccessfully attempting to dispose the remaining body parts by placing them in the trunk of his car and dumping them into the Colorado River, flooding his car in the process.^[8][18] His car was towed out of the water by the police department, and Cohee was allowed to leave the scene without suspicion.^[21][8] He confessed to taking pictures of Warren's body before deleting them "because they were evidence". The pictures were later recovered from his phone by the authorities.^[20] Following the interrogation, he was arrested and transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility on three charges.^{[clarification needed][15]}

Cohee's trial started on January 17, 2023. He was charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with evidence. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His attorneys argued that he murdered Barnes because he was driven insane by his diagnosed mental health conditions, which included major depressive disorder, autism, and ADHD, as well as environmental stressors.^[22][23] The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that Cohee had confessed to planning to murder someone, specifically a homeless person, months prior to the murder and that he attempted to get rid of Barnes's body, proving that he understood consequences of his actions.^[22][11] Testimonies from his therapist, family doctor, and psychologist were presented during the trial.^[10] On February 3, 2023, a jury found Cohee guilty on all three charges.^[24] Later, the judge sentenced Cohee to life in prison without possibility of parole for murder and 13.5 years for evidence tampering charges.^[25][26]

As of 2025, Cohee is 23 years old. He is incarcerated at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility in Colorado Springs.^[12]

In November 2021, a metal memorial statue for Warren was constructed by Tim Navin near the shop where he used to spend most of his time. The statue is a replica of the chair in which he sat.^[27][4]

• Crime in Colorado
• Murder in United States law
• Discrimination against homeless people