Person of interest in Park Layne woman’s death appears in court on protection order violation charge

PARK LAYNE — A man who deputies have called a person of interest in the death of a Park Layne woman earlier this week made an appearance in Clark County court Thursday morning after being charged with violating a protection order.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Person of interest in Park Layne death case charged with violation of protection order

Noel Coles Jr., 48, has been charged with three counts of violating a protection order, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and a Clark County Municipal Court judge set his bond at $250,000 during the appearance.

Prosecutors had requested a higher bond set for him because he’s considered a person of interest in another case, the suspicious death of his estranged girlfriend Jacqueline Coles.

Noel remains booked in the Clark County Jail Thursday afternoon, according to online jail records.

Noel has not been charged in the death of his estranged girlfriend, Jacqueline, 43, who was found dead in her Park Layne home Tuesday.

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Less than three weeks before her death, Jacqueline Coles said she was afraid for her life in a restraining order, obtained by News Center 7 through court records.

Deputies were conducting a welfare check on Jacqueline Coles on Tuesday after a co-worker called a non-emergency line saying they “heard some screaming and then the phone dropped.”

“I tried to call her back, but she won’t answer. But I know she has a protection order against her husband,” the co-worker said in the non-emergency call.

Deputies later discovered Jacqueline Coles dead at her home on Weinland Street. Deputies called Jacqueline Coles’ death “suspicious” and named her husband, Noel Coles Jr., a person of interest in the case.

News Center 7 obtained a copy of the restraining order that Jacqueline Coles filed against Noel Coles Jr. earlier this month on Aug. 5. Court records showed that, in a written statement, Jacqueline Coles accused her husband of threatening to kill her “on multiple occasions” within the last several weeks.

Jacqueline Coles also wrote that she received audio recordings of Noel saying he was going to kill her in the future. She also wrote, “I am in fear of my life.”

On Tuesday night, an Indiana deputy stopped Noel Coles Jr. on a traffic stop after noticing his car from an alert sent to law enforcement after Jacqueline Coles’ death, Clark County Chief Deputy Jeff Meyer. He was arrested on suspicion of violating a protection order.

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On Wednesday, Clark County Municipal Court records showed he was charged with three counts of violation of a protection order or consent agreement. He is currently in custody at the Clark County Jail.

Jacqueline Coles’ neighbors said they would have never expected something like this to happen.

“I just wanted to give them a little prayer. I know God will comfort them. That was just my prayer. That God would be with them during this difficult time,” Ida Conley, of Park Layne said.

The case is still under investigation by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation

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