She Killed Her Veteran Boyfriend to Save Herself

I’m being charged with >> a lover turned enemy. >> Um I asked her what had happened. She said that her and the the male had gotten into an argument. Uh he had punched her in her face. Uh so she went and grabbed her rifle and he he came back at her so she shot him. >> He charged me. He grabbed me by my neck and then um he slammed me on the floor like on the side of the bed.

>> The prosecution says it was coldblooded murder. He was not armed. He had no weapon. She brought the gun to the fist fight. >> But her defense says she feared for her life. >> You understand that the most dangerous time for a woman is when they’re trying to leave. >> Statistically, that is what is taught. Yes.

>> What really happened that made Audrey Cole pull the trigger on the father of her own child? >> She tried to escape. He came at her again and she used deadly force. >> This is Crimes of Passion [music] by Law and Crime. I’m Sierra Gillespie. Relationships are sacred. You’re supposed to be able to trust your partner above all else.

 But at the same time, [music] it’s those closest to us who can hurt us the most. >> My boyfriend was punching me in my face. We have shots. Stay. >> It ends with a gunshot, but begins with a love affair. Not much is known about how Matt Mott and Audrey Cole met, except that they both served in the United States [music] Army.

 Audrey would later tell investigators that both she and Matt had been diagnosed with PTSD from their time in the service. [music] By spring 2021, things have come to a head. The couple is living in Mechanics Town, Ohio. about 65 miles west of Pittsburgh. They share a three-year-old daughter, but the relationship is strained.

 So much so that Audrey wants out. >> I don’t think we need to be together. Like [music] he has his issues and I have my issues I have to work on. >> So, um, we need to, you know, I said we need to kind of do our own thing at this point. And, uh, that’s when I started like looking for a house and stuff like that and [music] waiting on my house to close now.

 But, um, a purchase. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> And so, um, but he he was still trying to like, you know, he just had like a lot of aggression [music] and stuff and I was like, see, that’s that’s what I mean. You know, like, um, even before, like when we called the cops before, [music] it was the same thing. And I was telling him like, uh, you have you have these issues and I have my issues and together it’s, you know, it’s no good, you know.

 So, um, we need to work on our stuff separately. >> And so, That’s what I’ve been trying to do. Kind of trying to stay out of his way and stay at the house um until my house closes and just, you know, make sure it’s not like a hostile environment, I guess. You know, >> the first weekend of May, things get really tense. >> Uh we [music] uh we traveled out of state. We went to Texas.

 I want you to go. >> Um it was just me and Matt. Okay. >> And uh the baby [music] the baby she stayed with my mom. We kept her. So, we uh we traveled to Texas and I was trying to pick up my boys, but my ex-husband didn’t want to give them back. So, um he was like he wouldn’t let me talk to him or see him.

 And uh Matt was like getting aggressive with that, too. And uh >> when you stay aggressive, like what? Yeah. He was like uh cursing at him. And uh we when I knocked on my ex-husband’s door, he didn’t answer. So, Matt went to cut his power off in the apartment. And [music] then uh like we were downstairs standing downstairs and my ex-husband came out and came downstairs [music] and um and we were both standing there.

 So my ex-husband just kind of stopped and he uh took a gun out and uh >> Yes. Okay. >> So he he [music] um and I think that’s kind of I don’t know like maybe that trigger. I don’t know. But it’s uh it’s kind of been building up over time, you know, and that was the last stressful [music] thing this past weekend.

>> Were you building up for Matt or both of you or >> um with him? >> Okay. >> So, uh so like I mean I was upset as well, you know, and I’m just like and I told him I told him I was like, “So, you’re going to shoot me now?” You know, [music] >> and he was just like if I have to, you know, and um then after that, he just kind of went his apartment.

 But um anyway, [music] long story short, we we uh called the cops when we were down there, so they they got involved and uh he was like arguing with the cop. He was Yeah. >> Audrey’s ex is concerned that Matt has become physically [music] violent with her sons. They discussed it and decided Matt will no longer discipline the boys.

But when it comes to Audrey and Matt’s three-year-old daughter, they still have differences in opinion. And on May 3rd, 2021, a fight breaks out. Audrey says it’s over their toddler. >> Um, today we started today [music] was like he got up he was upset earlier and um with the baby, right? The baby uh we suspect that she was constipated or something.

 So um she he was trying to force her to take a a stool softener, like a hard stool softener, and giving [music] her water to swallow. and I heard him yelling. I was in the back and I heard him yelling and like all day I’ve been trying to get lawyers and [music] stuff like that to uh handle my stuff with my ex-husband, you know. So, um so basically I heard him yell and I came in front and I said, “Uh, what are you doing?” And he was like, “I’m trying to get her laxative.

” And [music] I said, “No, don’t give her that.” I said, “She needs like a dissolvable one.” So, um she was she started whining. He was like, “Well, interesting.” and took the water bottle and threw it into the the back door, the glass door. >> Mhm. [music] >> And then I said, “Why are you doing that?” Like, cuz she got upset by that.

She was crying. I said, “If you’re not going to do it right, then I’ll do it myself.” So he was like, “Well, we have to do it then.” them. And then I I was like I took babe in the back room in her room and I sat down on her floor like I always sit on her mat in her room and I sat there and I just held her and she ended up telling fall asleep and I was trying to fill out an application online or something or attorney and um then he came back there and was like saying stuff to me about goes who are you talking to on the phone and you know

texting whatever and I’m like like barely listening to him because I’m trying to do this and I don’t want to argue. So, uh, I don’t know what time that was actually. Uh, it was this afternoon sometime. Okay. >> She says their fight just progressively gets worse and worse. >> Audrey sits on her bed by herself looking at her phone.

 She’s sitting on the edge of her bed looking at her phone, minding her own business. When Matt comes up the stairs unwilling to put this argument aside, then he just loses temp his temper completely. He loses all control of his emotions. She’s sitting here on the head of edge of her bed. He reaches over. He grabs her by the neck.

 He throws her off into a wall. Okay. Her head goes through the wall. You’re going to see it. Nice, perfectly headsized shape through the wall. Matt’s a lot larger than him than Audrey. He’s got her on the ground and he begins punching her in the head. She does what she can. She tries to block it, puts her arms up, tucks her chin, [clears throat] she takes punches to her arms, she takes punches to her head, to her face.

 She’s terrified. Now, by the grace of God, that does quit beating her. She couldn’t do anything at that point to stop her. Stop him. >> He charged me. He charged me. He grabbed me by my neck and then um he slammed me on the floor like on the side of the bed. And >> which side of the bed? >> Uh like when you go in, it’s on the right by the window over there. Yeah.

 So he slammed me down um on the floor and then like just started punching me like punching my head in my face and I kept trying to um trying to block him and I was like yelling and stuff. The baby didn’t even wake up, you know. But uh I was yelling and then uh he was like said he was like, “Yeah, that’s why I see why your um your dad used to hit your mom or something like that cuz you don’t know how to shut up, you know.

” And he was just like uh saying other things [music] and then Uh then he like walked out. So I got up like and a friend like I’m crying and stuff like that. Uh I grabbed my rifle under the bed and then I grabbed my ammo and loaded it and I was trying to get out at that point. It’s like I was trying to get out of here.

 So I was thinking get out of here. >> As Audrey explains, Matt put his hands on her and physically slammed her into a wall. It was so forceful it left a hole in the drywall. Audrey says she feared for her life, so she grabbed a weapon. And when Matt came at her again, she pulled the trigger. >> She’s terrified.

 He walks out of the door. She’s crying. She’s just been beaten. Her head hurts. It’s been thrown through a wall. She’s been punched. She’s bruised. She’s laying there on the floor. She keeps her AR underneath her bed. Her only thought is, “I need to get out of here.” She grabs her AR. She keeps the ammunition separate because they got a young child in the house.

 grabs the AR, gets the uh ammunition out of the the closet, loads the gun. Her only thought at this point is, I need to get out of here. She doesn’t know if Matt’s still there. Matt’s gone. He’s downstairs. She does know he keeps guns downstairs in the kitchen. She takes a step or two out of her into the hall and that’s when Matt comes around the corner.

Comes around the corner. She sees him, he sees her, and he comes at her again just the way he did moments before when he brutally beat her and caused her serious physical [music] harm. Soon as that happened, she fires one shot. He yells, he leaves. She doesn’t know where he’s going. She doesn’t know if she’s safe yet.

 She follows. She goes outside, doesn’t initially see him, comes back in. Audrey was brutally beaten. The fight stopped for a second. She tried to escape. He came at her again and she [music] used deadly force. It’s what happened. >> This incident on May 3rd isn’t the first time things have gotten physical between Matt and Audrey.

>> He attacked me in 2017 [music] and uh I called the cops at that time and it was because of an argument cuz uh I was on Facebook or actually I was talking to him about being on Facebook. I said, “Um, you’re talking on Facebook to uh other women or whatever.” And we were going back and forth about that. And then he was like, “Uh, get out of here.” And pushed me out of the bed.

 And when I was trying to stand up, he came to and grabbed me and like pushed me to the into the wall and stuff into [music] the dresser. And um I was trying to hurry and get out, you know, but he kept grabbing me and he pushed me and I fell and I had bruised my [music] leg and then he came and grabbed me by my hair and picked me up and and uh I was trying to get away and uh when he let me go, I ran and I grabbed my taser and I was like um I’m going to call the cops, you know. So that’s what I did.

 So I went to get my phone, try to get my phone out the room that we were in and I said, “I’m getting my phone so don’t move or I’m going to tase you.” And he was he was drunk though, you know, so he was just laying there. So that’s when I called the cops and they arrested him and he he just spent the night in jail. And uh I didn’t go to sleep at all cuz I I didn’t know when he was coming back or what was going to happen.

 But he came back the next morning like nothing happened. So I just kind of like left everything there [music] and then went to Texas for a year while he was working on his alcohol issue. And uh then we ended up getting back together after a year cuz he stopped with the alcohol use. >> But in recent months, Audrey has been planning to leave Matt.

>> It’s just uh progressively gotten worse since um I told him that we need to start wings or whatever, do our own thing or whatever. >> How long? >> Uh that’s been going on for like months now. Yeah, it start I mean things started like over the holidays like for the Christmas break and stuff. >> She said that they’ve been having issues.

 Um she indicated that she um they both have issues they need to work on. Uh she was going to purchase a house uh to uh remove herself from the house. Um and she said um this most recent uh weekend was rather I believe toxic or rough I believe. >> And it was all this that led to the blowout on May 3rd. >> Um I believe she said Matthew had accused her of um speaking with other other men um going on hikes with other men.

 Um, and Audrey said he’d become aggressive and she she told Matthew that she was not afraid of him and she said at that point Matthew had charged her. Um, she indicated that he had grabbed her by the neck and taken her to the to the floor um and began punching her repeatedly. Um, she said she attempted to block the punches.

 Uh he’d made some comments and and ultim ultimately stopped hitting her and then walked away. >> Audrey says she had no other choice. She was forced to shoot Matt. >> What was your goal? I mean to uh live in a peaceful environment like I didn’t that’s why I was uh went to the back room. That’s why I try to keep a distance, you know, and I didn’t expect it to uh happen like that.

>> What was your goal when you got to gun? >> What was your goal for five the next five? >> To protect to uh to protect myself, I guess. I don’t know. Were you expecting an attack from him? Another attack? >> I was I don’t know. It’s like um I I guess hoping that he just was gone, you know. They obviously not like that.

I mean, what what was I supposed to do in that situation? It’s like if I could have done anything better, what would happen? >> After she pulls the trigger, Audrey makes a call, but she doesn’t dial 911. >> She calls her mom. Says, “Mom, I just shot Matt. I need to call 911. She calls 911. >> Carol 911. >> What’s your address? >> And what’s your name? >> Audrey.

>> And what’s going on? >> My boyfriend was punching me in my face and I shot him dead. >> I’m sorry. What was that? My boyfriend was hitting me and punching in my head and I shot him. >> You shot him? >> Yes, I shot him. >> Where? >> And he checked. >> Okay. Is he still breathing? >> He’s He’s outside right now.

 I haven’t been out there and check on him. >> Okay. >> My god. >> Okay. Hang on just for one second for me, ma’am. Stay on line. >> She’s right to call 911. That was the right thing to do. Typically, it’s before you call somebody else, but yes. >> She tried to give him CPR. >> I believe it was an theft. Yes. >> Was that the right thing to do? >> Yes.

>> She waited for officers to arrive. >> Yes. >> Was that the right thing to do? >> Yes. She was unarmed when they arrived. >> When they arrived? >> Yes. >> My understanding is yes. >> Was that the right thing to do, too? >> Yes. >> She answered every single one of your questions. >> She did. >> And that was the right thing to do, too? >> Yes.

>> Investigators arrive on the scene minutes later, finding Matt’s [music] lifeless body on the front lawn. You testifies that she uh shot Matthew in um the hallway. >> Yes. >> She told you that he came at her again in the same manner he came at her before and that’s when she shot him. >> Are you referring to an incident in the bedroom or when you say come at him? >> I’m referring to when when she shot him.

He came at her and then she shot at him. >> She said he came at her. Yes. >> And that’s when she shot him. Yes. >> Yes. >> She told you he grabbed her neck, right? >> In the bedroom. Yes. >> Threw her on the floor. Right. >> Yes. >> She’s not throwing punches. He’s punching her. Right. >> According to her, yes.

>> And he left. Yes. And >> she grabbed her rifle and her ammunition. >> Yes. >> And she told you the reason is is cuz she needed to get out. >> Yes. >> She said get out. All I was thinking about was how I needed to get out. >> She also said uh to protect herself. She said >> Yeah.

 Cuz she she told you she didn’t know if he was coming back, right? Correct. >> She used the phrase she didn’t know if he would go and grab something and come back. Right. >> Correct. >> And she never told you that she did not see a gun in her hand. What she actually said is she didn’t know what he was going to do. I believe she was asked if he had anything in his hands and she said she saw nothing in his hands.

>> She told you very specifically that she was in fear for her life >> when asked. Yes. >> Her frame of mind, she told you repeatedly was she was just trying to get out. >> I don’t know what her frame of mind was. You asked her specifically about what her frame of mind was and she said what she was thinking about is how she had to get out just like she had to get out before.

>> She may have yes inferenced that she was trying to um get out. >> At trial, Audrey’s defense will push back on detectives about their response, questioning whether they showed up to a domestic violence incident. >> You’re trained that injuries in domestic violence cases can be serious. Yes, ma’am. >> You’re trained that strangulation is serious.

>> Yes, ma’am. >> It causes serious physical harm to the person being strangled. >> Yes, ma’am. >> And strangulation is when the colloquial way people often is someone putting their hands on their neck, >> right? >> Yes, ma’am. >> Um, strangulation can cut off oxygen to somebody’s brain. >> Yes, ma’am. >> It can cause damage internally.

>> Yes, ma’am. >> It can cause damage externally, too. Yes, ma’am. Someone’s head being bashed into the wall, that’s also serious. >> I would I would say yes, ma’am. >> Having your head bashed into the wall can cause serious injuries. It >> It’s possible that it can. Yes, ma’am. >> Internal and external. >> Yes, ma’am.

>> Bruising that lasts for a couple weeks. Pretty serious bruising. >> Yes, ma’am. I agree. >> Being punched repeatedly in the face by a man. That is serious too. >> Yes, ma’am. >> It can cause both serious external injuries and potentially internal ones. >> Yes, ma’am. >> Someone If a man hits a woman once, they can hit her again, right? >> No, ma’am.

>> They hit her once, they can’t hit her again. >> Again, it it depends on her circumstances. Why would he be striking her in the beginning? You’ve dealt with repeat offenders. >> I have. Yes. >> If you’re aware that someone beat up another officer before, that can cause concern for you that they could beat you up, too.

>> Oh, yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. >> You saw the deedent when you showed up, >> the Minister Mallet? >> Yes. >> Yes, ma’am. >> I want you to take a look at my client. Is Is Matthew Mott bigger than my client? >> Yes, he is. >> Is Matthew Mott a man? >> Yes, he is. >> Is my client a woman? >> Yes, ma’am. >> Other first responders did notice aged bruises on Audrey, indicating she had been living in a violent situation.

>> When you entered, did you have the occasion then to uh view any uh phys her physical appearance or any injuries that you were made aware of? Um, I observed a uh some bruising toward the end of it on the back side of her. I believe it was her left arm and she had a mark on her head with a little bit of blood and a superficial wound.

>> Okay. >> Inside the crime scene, detectives begin their evidence collection. I believe our first piece of evidence that we located was in the hallway outside the bathroom door and there was a a cartridge which is a cartridge casing in a bullet like a whole live round for layman’s [music] terms uh 223 caliber laying on the floor >> 2 days after Matt’s death an autopsy is performed >> and then I went on to describe the injury particularly the u wound of the left chest I did measurements of that wound wound. Uh I also looked for any um

deposits around that wound where um what what I call the entrance wound and then I with the internal examination after the incisions I tracked the injury that that um wound was associated with. So internal injuries of the chest organs and then I also tracked where the uh wound ended and in this case I saw three injuries on the left back uh that represented the wound of exit to that was connected to the wound of entrance of the left chest and I also noted that internally there were injuries to um organs and tissues particularly the left

lung uh a large artery that’s uh connected to the left lung uh there was injury to a branch of the um airway tube into the left lung and there was also injury to the uh ribs uh overlying the left lung as well in addition to injury uh to the rib area towards the left back. >> And as part of your duties, were you able to uh determine with a reasonable degree of medical certainty uh what the cause of death was? >> Yes.

>> And would you tell us what that is and uh why you base your conclusion on that? >> Uh yes. Um with the totality of all the findings, uh with a complete autopsy examination being performed, uh I was able to determine that the cause of death was as a result of the injury. Um specifically gunshot wound of chest with visceral, which refers to the organs, mainly the lung in this case.

 um vascular, so any blood vessels, skeletal uh ribs, uh mainly in this case, and the surrounding soft tissues. So, gunshot wound of chest with visceral, vascular, skeletal, and soft tissue injuries. >> Audrey Cole is charged in Matt’s murder, but she pleads not guilty. Her team argues she pulled the trigger justifiably out of self-defense.

>> Let’s get real. This wasn’t [music] a fist fight. Have you ever seen a boxing match on TV where a man who is twice the size of a woman is boxing her? No, of course not. Do you want to know why? Because she’d be dead and that company would get sued for putting something like that on. This was not a fist fight.

This was a beatdown. And that is the truth. So what would you do? What would you do? You’ve just been beaten by an asalent. You get a chance to grab a gun. You’re trying to get out. He comes back at you. He’s much bigger than you. He’s blocking the exit and he’s coming at you. What do you do? He didn’t have to be armed.

First of all, he could kill her with his bare hands. This is a 300 lb man. And look at my client. Please look at her because it’s your her eyes that you’re going to judge self-defense by. He could kill her with her bare hands. If he came charging at her and she did not shoot, he could grab that gun, knock her with that rifle, and shoot her dead.

An officer has 21 ft. That was the testimony. the 21 foot rule. He has 21 feet before he decides that someone’s coming at him and he shoots or he is dead. Our client had less than 10. >> But the prosecution says it was coldblooded murder. >> The issue here that you uh have to decide and what becomes in this case is whether this was justified.

 In other words, is it self-defense? And we believe that the evidence has shown that it was an unreasonable amount of self-defense, that the defendant used unreasonable force. At the end of the day, Matt Mott was not armed. He did not have a weapon. Did the defendant [music] purposely caused the death of Matt Mott? Yes, the evidence is clear.

 She shot him. She admitted it. She admitted it to the officer. She said it on the 911 call. Purpose, you will give an instruction on what purpose means. And purpose is that that intent just to do the act that you know what’s going to happen. You act with purpose. When you pick up a firearm and you level it and you squeeze the trigger, you’re acting with purpose.

 You want to know you want to pull the trigger and you want the you want that gun to fire. We go through the felonious assault. This is the idea here that the defendant leveled that firearm, did cause or attempt to cause physical harm to Matt Mott by means of that deadly weapon. when she fired it and she struck him and you heard the evidence from her own words that he said ow or words to that effect that it hurt and then he left and then he was out in the front yard where he was found.

 We believe the evidence will show that this is not self-defense, that this fight in the bedroom was over and then she brought the firearm into the picture and she used it and we believe that is unreasonable. >> A jury deliberates for about 5 hours before returning a verdict. >> As for count one, that is the charge of murder.