Upstate New York man strangles mother, dumps body in South Carolina: cops

Police say Charles Cole lived in Pleasant Valley and kept his mother’s body in the motel for seven weeks.

A man in Upstate New York is accused of killing his mother, and dumping her body in South Carolina.

Charles Cole was located Friday at a homeless service provider in Poughkeepsie.

Betty Cole was killed in mid-August, but her body stayed in the motel for seven weeks before it was dumped in South Carolina, police say. He was arraigned in Town of Pleasant Valley Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail.

Ronalda Cole was arrested October 18, charged with Tampering with Physical Evidence, a class E felony, for assisting her husband with transporting and disposing of Betty Cole’s body.

Police will release more information at a press conference on Saturday morning.

Police started their investigation on 6 October after receiving a tip from family members who said they could not contact her.

Captain John Ryan, of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said: “I find it hard to imagine circumstances that could lead to a son strangling his mother”. She was remanded to Dutchess County Jail for $10,000 cash bail. Investigators determined that Charles Cole had strangled his mother and, weeks later, drove the body to South Carolina.

He told the newspaper that workers routinely cleaned the air conditioning filters in each room and there were no indications a body was being kept there.

It was unclear whether either Ronalda Cole or Charles Cole had an attorney already.

He said motel employees never saw Cole’s mother living with the couple, only two dogs.

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