TULSA – The family of the woman who was stabbed to deathin her downtown apartment is opening up about the mother, and grandmother, who was loved by so many who knew her.
Just flowers and a lone candle sit in front of the apartment near Brady and Main where Melissa Cole died this week after, Tulsa police say, she was injured by her 15 year old son.
Cole’s 26-year-old son, Jesse Anderson, told 2 Works for You that he received the first call from Tulsa detectives about the death of his mother.
“When you hear something like that, definitely going to a state of shock, I was very shocked. I immediately started going to work in my head, you know, thinking about the arrangements and stuff. It didn't really hit me until I was packing to come to Tulsa,” said Anderson.
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Anderson is the middle of three boys who have the same mother. The 15-year-old suspect has a different dad and is his half-brother.
Anderson says he and his mother haven’t been as close in recent years since he moved to Stillwater.
“It's stuff like that that you regret but we were on good terms. We were very friendly and you know she's my mom,” said Anderson.
“She made friends easily, long-lasting friendships that are not being a huge source of support for us now actually,” he said.
For Anderson, the death of his mother has been much harder to cope with knowing his half-brother is accused of breaking down the door and attacking Cole.
He says, for the most part, his brother only showed what he believed was typical teenage behavior.
“But occasionally I would get a text from mom, you know, that he's been really aggressive and acting out. In August he did destroy part of the living room, which is what initially had him put in a behavioral treatment facility.”
Anderson said his half-brother had been out now for a couple of weeks when the incident occurred.
“It was ‘voluntary in’ and it was also a ‘voluntary out’ and so from my understanding she felt guilty [and] had him come out.”
Anderson says his brother was taking medication for a mental illness but recently ran out of his pills.
“I believe that if he had his medication this wouldn't have happened,” said Anderson.
Now— the family seeking justice for not only Melissa— but the young man accused of killing her.
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