John Anthony Cole, 48, was sentenced in the murder of Antoine Smith, according to a press release from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
In 2022, Smith was reported missing after sending several text messages to friends indicating he’d been kidnapped by Cole in an attempt to collect a debt, according to the release.
Phoenix Police tracked Smith’s phone from Phoenix to Tucson. A welfare check at Cole’s residence led Tucson police to discover suspicious items including cleaning supplies and a blood-stained shovel,
Cole’s phone was also tracked leading to his arrest near the Arizona-California border. Remains of Smith’s body were found in the trunk of the vehicle.
Cole pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of abandonment or concealment of a dead body.
