Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Arraignment delayed for daughter accused in mother’s strangling

Daughter, two codefendants, expected to enter pleas Tuesday in district court

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Autumn Cole

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Joseph Perez

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Lorenzo Cardenas-Sanchez

Autumn Cole, who is accused of kidnapping and strangling her 68-year-old mother, will have to wait until early next week to be arraigned in Clark County District Court.

Because an attorney for one of Cole’s two co-defendants was unable to attend this morning’s scheduled court appearance, Judge Valerie Adair delayed the arraignment until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Cole, 44, who is being represented by Clark County Deputy Special Public Defenders Ivette Amelburu Maningo and Michael Hyte, was indicted Aug. 31 by a grand jury, along with Joseph Perez, 44, and Lorenzo Cardenas-Sanchez, 37, on murder, robbery and kidnapping charges in connection with the July 28 death of Katherine Cole.

Perez is being represented by Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Banks. Cardenas-Sanchez is being defended by attorney Michael Cristalli.

Cole, Perez and Cardenas-Sanchez are being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.

All three were indicted by the grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, burglary, murder with the use of a deadly weapon on a victim 60 years of age or older, robbery with the use of a deadly weapon on a victim 60 years of age or older and grand larceny auto.

Cole and Perez were also each charged with first-degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon on a victim 60 years of age or older and possession of a credit or debit card without the cardholder’s consent. Cardenas-Sanchez was also charged with accessory to murder.

According to an arrest report, Perez, Autumn Cole’s boyfriend, said a man took Cole to her mother’s home in Las Vegas at 5 p.m. July 29. He said soon after she called him to come to the house.

The indictment says the mother was first detained by using bedding and a bathrobe sash twisted into ligatures, then was strangled with a twisted pillowcase.

When Perez arrived at the home, according to the police report, the daughter was trying to put her mother’s body in the trunk of her car. Perez said he persuaded Cole to leave the body in the garage, and then stepped on her. The two then stole her mother’s white Acura Integra, “pushed her head out of the way” and drove off, the report said.

Perez told police he was the person who used Cole’s debit and credit cards at an ATM and a Kmart. After carrying out a search warrant, police found the cards in the car Cardenas-Sanchez was driving.

Cardenas-Sanchez told police he took both Cole and Perez to Katherine Cole’s home on July 29.

Cardenas-Sanchez said both got out of the car, but that Autumn Cole came back to the car and Perez remained in the house. He took Cole back to her house and left. He said he later met up with Cole and followed her in her mother’s car to Arizona Charlie’s, where they left the car.

He and Perez then went to an Arco AM-PM, Kmart, the ATM and El Super Market using Cole’s debit cards to make purchases, the report said. Police recovered the Acura in the casino parking lot, and casino surveillance video shows a person leaving the car and exiting in a red van.

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