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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Son Pleads Guilty to the Gross Abuse of his Father’s Corpse

April 16, 2025, David Cole Jr. appeared in front of Muskingum County Common Pleas Court Judge Anderson and plead guilty to five different charges stemming from his father’s death on Christmas last year.

The Cole name made headlines in February when David Cole Jr.’s wife, Brittany Cole, pleaded guilty to the murder of her father-in-law, David Cole Sr., and to the gross abuse of his corpse. She received the maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 16 years.

Today, David Cole Jr. pleaded guilty to the following charges: tampering with evidence, possessing criminal tools, gross abuse of a corpse, obstructing justice, and endangering children. The charges are in connection with Cole Jr’s involvement with the gross abuse that took place with his father’s corpse after he was murdered by Cole Jr.’s wife, Brittany Cole.

The charges carry a total maximum sentence of 11 years. Judge Anderson accepted Cole Jr.’s plea, ordered a pre-sentence investigation and will hold sentencing at a later date. The State of Ohio and Cole Jr’s attorney will make sentencing arguments at that time.

Details of the Case:

On February 10, 2025, the Zanesville Police Department found the body of David Cole Jr.'s father, David Cole Sr., in a shed behind 1292 Somers St, Zanesville, Ohio. Officers discovered the body wrapped in a tarp secured with rope and inside a plastic mattress bag.

During the initial investigation, Brittany Cole admitted to administering six Tylenol 3 tablets with codeine and half a bottle of ZzzQuil to her father-in-law over a period of two hours, knowing it would cause David, Sr’s death. David Cole Sr. passed away in his family's home during the early morning hours of December 25, 2024.

Interviews revealed that David Cole Jr. was not involved in his father's care, leaving Brittany to manage his father's Parkinson's medication and daily check-ins.

While Brittany attended school each day, David Cole Jr. spent his time playing video games at home, despite receiving job offers from friends and family, which he declined.

Brittany Cole misled David Cole Jr. about his father's death, regularly visiting his father's room pretending to check on him.

Unaware of his father's passing, David Cole Jr. went on vacation with Brittany and their minor child to Florida from December 26 to January 1.

A week after their return, on January 8, 2025, David Cole Jr. discovered his father’s body while Brittany was at school. Reports indicate that cameras inside the home captured the moment he checked on his father for the first time in weeks. The video captured Cole, Jr. reacting with shock and calling Brittany on speakerphone to confront her. Video captured when she lied and said that Cole, Sr. had passed away only three days prior.

“How long has he been dead?,” Cole, Jr. asked.

“At least three days,” was Brittany Cole’s response.

Cole Jr. argued the response, and replied, “This is more than three days, I can tell. He’s decomposing.”

Later in the day, instead of notifying the authorities, David Cole Jr. and Brittany Cole devised their own plan. Their messages showed they were aware of the decomposing body and discussed measures to mask the smell, such as opening windows and using air fresheners.

On January 8, 2025, the day David Cole Jr. learned of his father's death, he texted Brittany, saying, “Yeah, I tried to eat some crackers and cheese, but the smell is too strong. I tried spraying more but goodness it’s bad.”

The couple left David Cole Sr.'s body in his bedroom for several days before moving it to the sunroom. The body remained uncovered there for days until Cole Jr. and Brittany wrapped the body in a tarp.

The body remained in the sunroom again for several days until David Cole. Jr ordered a plastic mattress bag on Amazon. David Cole Jr. and Brittany Cole then put the tarp-wrapped body of David Cole Sr. into the mattress bag before moving it to the outside shed.

David Cole Sr.'s body remained at his family's home for 48 days until it was discovered by the Zanesville Police Department on February 10, 2025.



“The murder of David Cole, Sr. and the events that followed were horrific. Understandably, members of the public have made guesses about how involved David Cole, Jr. was in his father’s killing,” according to Assistant Prosecutor John Litle who handled the case.

Litle further added, “While the investigation proved that David Cole, Jr. did not participate in his father’s murder, his behavior while his father was alive and after his father’s death demonstrate that it is possible to be a horrible person while also not being a murderer.”

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