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Brittany Lee Cole, 37, pleaded guilty to murder and gross abuse of a corpse in the death of David Cole Sr. in Zanesville, Ohio, and was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 16 years.

David Cole Sr., 80, was ill and bedridden at the family home at 1292 Somers Street. His daughter-in-law, Brittany Cole, was his caretaker, and her husband, David Cole Jr., 44, was the victim's son. The household received about $2,300 a month in Social Security benefits paid for David Cole Sr.

On December 24, 2024, Brittany Cole gave David Cole Sr. Tylenol 3 (acetaminophen with codeine) and a significant amount of ZzzQuil. When he complained of pain later that night, she gave him more of both. She told investigators she knew the combination would be fatal and said she found him dead on the morning of December 25.

Cole did not report the death and told family members to say David Cole Sr. had moved to Cincinnati. His body remained in the home until David Cole Jr. found it on January 8, 2025. It was then wrapped in a tarp and a mattress bag and placed in a shed behind the house. Prosecutors said his Social Security payments continued to be collected after his death.

Zanesville police received a 911 call on February 10, 2025, reporting a body in the shed behind the residence. Officers found David Cole Sr. wrapped in a tarp, and Detective Bryan Ruff led the investigation.

The recording shows police interviewing Brittany Cole on what the narrator dates as February 11, 2025, before her confession. She described officers coming to the door, named people she thought might have called police, and said she did not know why the body was in the shed. She also said she was sure David Cole Sr. died of natural causes and offered to take a lie detector test. According to the prosecutor's office, she confessed in a further interview on February 13, 2025.

Investigators recovered text messages between Cole and her husband about the odor and moving the body, prosecutors said. They also found her Google search for "when someone dies how long does it take for the body to start smelling," an Amazon order for a mattress cover, and camera footage of David Cole Jr. finding the body. Brittany Lee Cole was charged with murder and gross abuse of a corpse and pleaded guilty to both counts on February 26, 2025, in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court. The murder count is an unclassified felony carrying 15 years to life, while the gross abuse of a corpse count, a fifth-degree felony, added a consecutive 12 months. Judge Gerald Anderson imposed the sentence. David Cole Jr. was arrested on February 20, 2025, and charged with six felonies, including two counts of tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. The charges against him are allegations. No plea, verdict or sentence for him has been publicly reported.

The video is a police interview-room recording that runs about 58 minutes. It presents the interview itself and opens with a short narrated introduction naming the people involved.