Murder charges expected for Arlington Hts. son

Charges are expected, possibly today, against a 41-year-old Arlington Heights man in custody after police say he called 911 late Monday night to report he had killed his father.

Stuart Cole, 69, was found beaten to death in his home, officials from the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

Police confirmed that his son, Steven M. Cole, surrendered to officers at the residence and was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

Steven Cole was released from the hospital about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, and was interviewed “extensively” about his involvement in the death of his father by investigators before being placed in lockup, according to police.

The Cook County states attorney's office will meet with police Wednesday after an early morning autopsy to determine “what and if any charges” will be filed against Cole, Arlington Heights Police Cmdr. Kenneth Galinski announced late Tuesday.

The victim's wife, whom neighbors identified as Barbara, is in an area nursing facility and was not home at the time of the slaying, Galinski said.

Police said that shortly before midnight they received a 911 call from the “irate” son who claimed he had just killed his father in the home. About 10 minutes after the initial call, police said, two additional calls came in from Barbara Cole and from the couple's daughter, who is married and living in another town, saying the son also contacted them claiming he had killed Stuart Cole.

Officers went to the scene and were in the process of establishing a perimeter around the home when Steven Cole stepped outside and surrendered, police said.

He was “highly agitated and was making verbal admissions and utterances about what had taken place inside the home,” the police said in a news release.

He was taken to the hospital after telling officers he wasn't feeling well.

Arlington Heights police were able to gain access to the home a short time later and determined Stuart Cole was “beyond medical attention.”

Investigators and forensic technicians were assisted by officers from the Major Case Assistance Team.

Galinski said the younger Cole has a history of mental illness, was unemployed and had been in and out of institutions over the years.

Police, he said, had been called to the family's Stratford Road home on several occasions for domestic troubles and always sent at least two to three officers because of the son's strong physique and training as an “extreme” fighter. In some instances, Galinski said, it took five or more officers to bring Steven Cole under control.

The Coles, Galinski said, had filed at least one order of protection against their son in the past, but the orders were not active as of Monday night. The events that led to those filings, he said, usually involved threats against Stuart Cole, but Galinski did not know of any actual violence or arrest. The son was living in the home as of Monday.

“You know parents,” Galinski said. “You raise the kid the best you can and you want to help him and let him back in the house.”

Cook County court records show Steven Cole has been sentenced to probation at least four times dating back to 1988 and was admitted to mental hospitals on multiple occasions, including one time his mother said he attempted suicide. He also served two days in jail after a 2006 criminal damage to property conviction.

He received probation in theft cases in 1988 and 1991, and was placed on court supervision in connection with a 1990 battery charge. In March 2008, Steven Cole was convicted of a felony for forging a drug prescription and was placed on 24 months' probation. That sentence later was transferred to mental health probation in 2009.

He pleaded guilty in 2007 to violating an order of protection filed by a Rosemont woman. Court records do not clearly indicate his relationship with the woman. He received a two-year term of nonreporting probation in that case.

Records also show Steven Cole has received at least 64 traffic tickets in Cook County.

Neighbors on the street of split-level homes described Stuart Cole as nice and mild-mannered, and said his wife is seriously ill.

One neighbor, Tom Kosmalski, who has lived nearby for about six years, said he was not close to the family but did talk with Stuart Cole. He said he believed it was the son's mother who wanted him allowed back in the home despite past troubles.

“You know a mother's love,” he said, “always protective.”

Neighbors got an automated phone call early Tuesday morning telling them to stay in their homes, Kosmalski said. Sharpshooters hid behind the cars in his driveway and broke his yard light to protect their location.

“I looked out the window even though they told us not to and saw them with their long rifles,” he said.

According to online listings and a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Stuart Cole ran a business out of his home called Cole Commercial Funding. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation records indicate Cole also was a licensed real estate agent associated at least for a time with a Barrington area realty partnership.

It is the second time in just two months that an Arlington Heights man has been killed in his home, allegedly at his son's hands. On April 14, George Nellessen, 55, was found beaten and stabbed to death in his Wilshire Lane residence. His son, Mathew Nellessen, and three other men are charged with his murder.

* Daily Herald staff writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.