Rochester man's killer was high on drugs: affidavit

Jason Cote; below, Ricky Cole

SKOWHEGAN, Maine - The Palmyra man who bludgeoned to death Rochester, N.H., native Ricky Cole was high on drugs when the attack occurred the night of July 17, according to an affidavit made available the day of his first court appearance on Friday.

Jason Cote, 22, of Palmyra, is accused of using a pipe in the attack on Cole, who moved from Rochester to Central Maine about 10 years ago, according to a Rochester-area relative who asked not to be identified for this report.

Somerset County Superior Court Judge John Nivison read the charge, but Cote offered no plea as he has not yet been indicted. His incarceration in the local jail will continue with no bail.

According to the affidavit, Cote was snorting Methadone and Xanax the day of July 17 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 on Wednesday.

It is expected an indictment will be returned from a Somerset grand jury within a month, after which time the murder trial will get under way.

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

The relative of Cole who didn’t want to be identified said Cole had two sons, one a young adult who lives on his own in the Seacoast area, and one who is just 5 years old.

She said the last time she saw Cole about three years ago he was divorced and had been having a “rough time.”

She said he will be buried in Brownfield, Maine, the home of a large family burial plot.

Both Cole and Cote have short criminal histories in Maine.