
Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Husband of Murderer Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison Following the Gross Abuse of his Father's Corpse
May 28, 2025, David Cole, Jr., of Zanesville, OH, appeared in a Muskingum County Court before Judge Gerald Anderson to receive sentencing for charges that stem from David abusing his father’s corpse after his wife, Brittany Cole, murdered him.
David Cole Sr. died on Christmas morning in 2024 after Brittany intentionally gave him a lethal dose of ZzzQuil and Tylenol 3 with codeine the night before. For the murder of her father-in-law, Brittany Cole received the maximum sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole after sixteen (16) years.
David pleaded guilty to multiple charges including tampering with evidence, possessing criminal tools, gross abuse of a corpse, obstructing justice, and endangering children.
At his sentencing Judge Anderson imposed that the sentence for each charge be served consecutively, resulting in an aggregate sentence of nine (9) years in prison.
Details of Case:
On February 10, 2025, the Zanesville Police Department discovered David Cole Sr.’s decomposing body in a shed behind the family’s home. The body was wrapped in a tarp, secured with rope and placed inside a plastic mattress bag.
Investigations revealed that Cole Sr. was ill and bedridden at the time of his murder, with Brittany Cole as his primary caretaker. Home most of the day and unemployed, David rarely checked on his father. Through access to a surveillance camera inside the home, investigators were able to verify that David had not checked on his father a single time between his return from vacation and January 8, 2025, when he discovered his father’s body.
Rather than notifying authorities of the death, David and Brittany Cole next devised plans to conceal the body. Text messages between the couple show how much the body had decayed during that time. Cole Jr. tried to eat, but he noticed the strong smell. He even opened windows and sprayed air freshener, but it didn’t help. David Cole, Sr’s body remained in the home for several weeks before the married couple relocated it to the shed.
Reports also state that David and Brittany continued to receive and spend social security funds that Cole Sr. received after his murder, uncovering financial motives behind concealing the corpse.
David also exposed a child in his care to the couple’s behavior, leading to the charge of child endangering.
“Although David Cole was not involved in his father’s death, the evidence shows he wasn’t much involved in his father’s life,” according to APA John Litle who handled the case. “We hope that this sentence brings some closure to David, Sr’s remaining family and gives what dignity we can for a helpless victim who was badly mistreated both in life and in death.”
###
Follow the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office on Facebook for the most current and complete information.