Tracy Cole, the grandson of jazz legend Freddy Cole and a great-nephew of Nat King Cole, was unable to call for help after being stabbed last month in the stairwell of an Atlanta apartment building, according to arrest warrants obtained Monday.
Ricardo Gayle is accused of fatally stabbing the victim and stealing both of his cellphones during the Sept. 14 incident, Atlanta police said. Tracy Cole was left “begging for help” before he bled out and died from his injuries, the warrants stated.
Cole, 31, suffered multiple stab wounds around 2 a.m. at the MAA Centennial Olympic Park apartments on Centennial Olympic Park Drive. He was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital but later died from his injuries, police said.
There had been an air of mystery surrounding Cole’s death. On Saturday, police said investigators determined the stabbing was not a random act.
“The victim and suspect were confirmed to be familiar with each other,” police said in a statement.
Cole was a sales representative for former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco’s Eighty5 Cigars brand and was mourned online by the local festival Atlanta Cigar Week, which took place last month. “The Atlanta cigar community is deeply saddened by the loss of such a vibrant soul,” the festival posted on Instagram.
Nat King Cole died from lung cancer in 1965 at age 45 after he had reached an immortal level of fame in his three-decade music career. Freddy Cole, Nat King Cole’s youngest brother, was a jazz legend in his own right. In the 1970s, he relocated his family to Atlanta and lived here until his death in 2020 at the age of 88.
Tracy Cole was among Freddy’s four grandchildren.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Gayle, of Union City, was taken into custody by Fairburn police during a traffic stop, according to Atlanta police.
The suspect, in his early 40s, was booked into the Fulton County Jail on charges of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, and hindering persons making emergency telephone call, online records show.
In December 2021, Gayle was arrested by Fairburn police on drug charges, according to court records. That case is still pending.
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