Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
PULASKI (AP) Pulaski County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing his infant son.
Thirty-two-year-old Howard Cole of Pulaski is charged with capital murder and illegal disposal of a body.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Justin Griffith says the prosecution is dropping a child abuse charge so that it can focus on the capital murder case.
Griffith announced the decision Wednesday during a hearing on the abuse charge in Pulaski County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, reports The Roanoke Times.
A hearing on the other charges is set for May 23 in circuit court.
Police found the body of Cole’s 5-month-old son, Cory Cole, in a wooded area in Draper on Jan. 30.
The infant’s mother, 29-year-old Samantha Warden, is charged with child neglect.
