Report: Dad strangled 2-year-old son; ignored dying boy while he played video games (Gilbert, Arizona)

I believe we've posted on daddy JONATHAN COLE before. Another dude who'd rather play video games....Now he's arrested on 1st-degree murder charges for strangling his 2-year-old son. Daddy was apparently mad at Mom, see.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/gilbert/report%3A-father-watched-video-games,-ignored-dying-son

Report: Father watched video games, ignored dying son in Gilbert
Posted: 11:02 PM
Last Updated: 10 hours and 52 minutes ago
By: Steve Kuzj

GILBERT, AZ - A Gilbert father is being held in jail on a $350,000 cash bond after police say he strangled his 2-year-old son last week.

Police arrested 25-year-old Jonathan Cole on charges of first degree murder and child abuse involving his son Alexzander. What some officers say they found most startling was Cole’s lack of emotion when they responded to his home.

In his 911 call, Cole says he waited more than an hour before calling for help.

"I put my son down for a nap, and I noticed he's not breathing right now," Cole says in the call.

Gilbert police say Cole made his 2-year-old son stop breathing.

"The defendant squeezed the life out of his 2-year-old son with his bare hands," a prosecuting attorney with the state said at Cole’s initial court appearance.

Investigators say Cole lied about what happened. When police and paramedics showed up at his apartment, they say it was clear to them they were not getting the truth.

In the incident report ABC 15 obtained, officers on the scene said Cole "did not seem to be performing any lifesaving efforts," and "appeared to have almost no emotion."

While rescuers were working on saving Cole’s son, one officer recalled how Cole not once went to "check on his son," during the crucial time. Instead, officers say they found him in another apartment "watching someone playing video games."

It was only once Cole got to the hospital with Alexzander that police say he started showing some emotion, except they say it was fake. The report states, "He acted like he was crying."

Alexzander was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators say the death happened because of an ongoing argument he was having with his wife.

"In fact, he wrote her a letter and told her that the reason he did this was because he was angry at her," a state attorney said.

The incident happened at the InTown Suites in Gilbert around 6 p.m. last Wednesday.

Cole was interviewed by detectives and later arrested, according to Gilbert police. He was booked into Maricopa County jail.

Court documents show Cole admitted to squeezing his son until he couldn't breathe anymore. In court, attorneys for the state say Cole wrote a letter apologizing to his wife for hurting their son.

The following is InTown Suites' statement regarding the October 5th incident at their Gilbert property:

"The InTown Suites family is deeply saddened about the tragic event that occurred at our Gilbert, Arizona location on October 5, 2011. Our thoughts and sympathies are with little Alex and his loved ones. We continue to work with the Gilbert Police Department and respectfully defer all questions regarding this ongoing investigation to them."