PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Police have filed a request to search the cellphone of the Providence man who’s accused of killing his girlfriend and putting her body in a refrigerator, court documents obtained by 12 News revealed.
According to an affidavit, police say Nathan Cooper told investigators that he and Sherbert Maddox were smoking “a marijuana cigarette that was laced with crack cocaine” on March 16 before he shot her while she was taking a shower.
After she stopped breathing, court documents say he wrapped her body up in blankets, removed the shelves from the refrigerator, and stored her body inside.
Cooper, 53, said he never called 911 because he didn’t trust the police.
On March 22, police responded to the Parkis Avenue apartment to check on Maddox’s well-being and learned she may have been killed by Cooper.
“Patrol units standing on the third-floor landing in a common hallway could smell a pungent odor emanating from the apartment, which was consistent with the decomposition of human remains,” court documents read.
Once Cooper was taken in for questioning, a search warrant was obtained and police found Maddox in a refrigerator that had been moved from the kitchen to a bedroom.
“She was wrapped in several layers of types of saran wrap, towels, blankets, and then she was placed in a refrigerator,” Maj. David Lapatin told 12 News last week.
Detectives found the handgun they believe Cooper used to kill Maddox, along with a rifle and two cellphones.
Police say they are requesting a search warrant for the two cellphones based on the circumstances of the investigation.
“Individuals with portable electronic devices communicate information about their activities and location in numerous ways to include, but not limited to, voice communications such as direct conversations and voicemail, sharing photographs and written communications such as text messages,” the affidavit read.
Cooper has since been charged with murder, possession of a stolen firearm, and carrying a firearm without a license. He is currently being held without bail pending his next court date.
