John Anthony Cole will spend more than three decades behind bars for killing and dismembering a Phoenix man over a money dispute two years ago.
Cole was sentenced to 31 years in prison for the murder of Antoine Smith.
Back 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.
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.