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Murder trial in death of Rochester man nears

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Ricky Cole of Rochester (Courtesy photo)

SKOWHEGAN, Maine - Lawyers for a Palmyra man suspected in the 2013 bludgeoning death of a Rochester, N.H., native are trying to develop evidence they think will prove his violent past contributed to his death, but the state's AG's office says it won't fly.

Jason Cote, 25, is accused of using a pipe in the attack on Ricky Cole, 47, who moved from Rochester to Central Maine about 12 years ago.

Lawyers for Cote brought forward information last week that Cole had been convicted of motor vehicle manslaughter in New Hampshire, and a judge will have to decide whether that conviction should be allowed as evidence at Cote's murder trial expected to begin next month.

Maine's Attorney General's Office, however, said in a court filing that the conviction would not necessarily justify the use of force against him by his alleged killer, Cote.

Court affidavits state Cote was high and seeking drugs when he went to Cole's home in Detroit on July 17, 2013.

Jason Cote

Cote's attorneys are also seeking mental health records on Cole that say he made threats about killing police officers and a statement he made about killing two people in New Hampshire.

Cote's attorneys are specifically seeking access to counseling records at Kennebec Behavioral Health where Cole was treated.

A Somerset County Sheriff's detective said the director of the Waterville clinic notified the Somerset County Sheriff's Office that Cole had "articulated that he'd almost killed two police officers during the preceding week. He'd also stated that he'd spent time in a New Hampshire prison for killing two people two years ago."

Cote's attorneys claim Cote would have known of Cole's threat to kill police officers and statements he had made about killing other people, and that would have given him reason to fear Cole.

Cole's only criminal record in Skowhegan District Court was a June 2013 conviction for criminal threatening.

New Hampshire court records show two arrests for manslaughter: one in August 1991, and the other in July 1992.

Maine's evidence rules, however, say that a person's criminal history cannot be used to support a claim that the person would act in the same way again.

According to an affidavit filed soon after Cole's death, Cote was snorting Methadone and Xanax the day of July 17, 2013, after mowing Cole's yard earlier in the day.

Sometime in the evening he arranged for an acquaintance to drop him off at Cole's Detroit trailer to get more drugs.

Sometime later the acquaintance returned to pick up Cote who appeared nervous and agitated.

The acquaintance's girlfriend later told him that Cote had said he had hit Cole with a pipe. The acquaintance returned to check on the welfare of Cole whom he found dead and called 911 around 3 a.m. on July 18.

Cole, 47, died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and neck, according to the Maine Medical Officer's report, which said he had suffered a fractured skull, extensive blood loss and deep internal injuries.

Later in the morning after finding Cole dead police interviewed Cote, who said he had nothing to do with Cole's death.

However, a police investigation turned up blood splattered clothing near Cote's home that bore DNA traces that matched both Cote and blood taken during Cole's autopsy.

Cote was arrested the following day.

A conviction would net Cote a 25 year to life sentence in a Maine prison.

Cole had two sons, one a young adult who lives on his own in the Seacoast area, and one who is 7 years old.

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