Woman’s slaying stuns friends
Katherine Cole was a person with many nicknames.
People called her "Kathy," "Charli" and "Kate," her best friend, Tara Klimek, said Monday.
Under every name, friends and colleagues said, Cole was beloved for one character trait: kindness.
Cole, 68, was killed last week after she walked in on a burglary at her house near Valley View and Oakey boulevards.
Cole, who lived alone, had two daughters and one granddaughter. The Clark County coroner’s office ruled Monday that she died from strangulation.
"She’s been a good person all her life," Klimek said. "She has never hurt anybody."
Klimek, who graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in 1961 with Cole, said Cole knew many movers and shakers in the Las Vegas Valley. It’s not something you would ever know by talking to her, she added.
"You’d never hear her throwing the names out," Klimek said. "She was just a regular working person. She was getting by just like the rest of us."
Las Vegas police said Cole probably was slain after 5 p.m. when she left her job Thursday at the South Point on Las Vegas Boulevard, south of Silverado Ranch Boulevard.
Police suspect she surprised two burglars in her home. Investigators discovered her body Friday inside her residence on Casa Grande Avenue.
On Saturday, police released store surveillance video of two Hispanic men who used her credit and debit cards. In addition to stealing Cole’s wallet, the burglars also stole her car.
Police could not be reached for comment Monday night.
Michael Gaughan, owner of the South Point, said Cole worked in the casino-resort’s accounting department and was "just a nice lady."
Gaughan, who had known Cole since the fourth grade, said his company is preparing a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects in her slaying.
"The police will probably work a little harder on this case," Gaughan said. "It’s a heinous crime. Why do you kill a 68-year-old lady?"
Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin, who had known Cole since the fifth grade, described her as a "good-hearted person" dedicated to her friends.
Cole was on the committee that organized the 50th anniversary reunion for Bishop Gorman’s class of 1961, held at the South Point in late April.
Klimek said Cole was the go-to person on the committee because she worked at the resort where the reunion was held. Klimek said Cole did it all, from reserving rooms for classmates to figuring out music and lighting for the event.
Cole was formerly married to Mickey Cole, who owned a large travel agency in Clark County, Klimek and others said.
Klimek said she is anxiously waiting for arrests in Cole’s slaying.
Police said one of the men in the home invasion was between the ages of 30 and 35 and between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall. The video shows him wearing a blue or gray jacket, light blue baseball cap, black sweat pants and white athletic shoes.
The other suspect is between the ages of 30 and 40 and between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing a short-sleeve shirt with horizontal stripes and white pants and shoes.
They had been driving a red sedan of unknown make and model.
Cole’s car is a white four-door 2000 Acura with Nevada license plates 805 MSN.
In Cole’s neighborhood Monday, one neighbor, who didn’t want to give his name, said Cole was "the neatest person I’ve ever met."
Cole’s ranch-style house has metal bars protecting the windows. A metal fence protects the front door.
Klimek said she misses her best friend, an animal lover who would help anyone in need.
She said that if the suspects in Cole’s slaying are arrested, she will go to their trial though it will be difficult to learn how Cole spent her last moments.
"We are poorer for her passing, but heaven is richer," Klimek said. "God has a good woman by his side."
Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or the Homicide Section at 828-3521.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@review journal.com or 702-383-4638. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
