Providence man convicted of murder after girlfriend's body found in refrigerator
A 54-year-old Providence man accused of shooting his girlfriend and stashing her body in a refrigerator was convicted of murder Monday in Providence County Superior Court.
A jury found Nathan Cooper guilty of one count of second-degree murder and related charges in the death of Sherbert Maddox, 40, last March, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced in a press release. The verdict followed a six-day trial.
The Providence police began investigating on March 22, 2022, after members of Maddox's family flagged down a Providence police officer on Parkis Avenue, saying Cooper had murdered Maddox and her body was being stored in his apartment, Neronha said in the press release.
Inside the apartment, the police found the victim's body in a refrigerator, Neronha said. Maddox's body had been wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap and bedding. The refrigerator had been moved from the kitchen to Cooper's bedroom and tied shut with cord.
The medical examiner later determined that Maddox died from a gunshot wound to the chest, Neronha said.
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The police found a .38 caliber revolver in the apartment, as well as a shotgun. Cooper was at the apartment when the police went in, the Providence police said previously.
Maddox's nickname was "Strawberry," according to family members. Her mother and daughter previously described her as "one of a kind" and someone who "made you laugh when you were sad."
After Cooper's arrest, the police said friends and family members of Maddox told them Cooper had had "violent tendencies toward" Maddox on previous occasions.
Cooper was also convicted Monday of one count of discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence resulting in death, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
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Cooper is being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions, pending his sentencing, not yet scheduled, according to Neronha.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Erickson and Special Assistant Attorney General Ariel Pittner of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Angelo A’Vant of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Jury convicts Providence man of fatally shooting girlfriend
