Bethel Twp. death investigation: Person of interest jailed in Indiana; victim ID’d

Co-worker alerts sheriff’s office after hearing screams on phone.

Clark County Sheriff’s deputies and Ohio BCI are investigating the death of a woman Tuesday morning in Bethel Twp.

The victim was identified as Jacqueline Coles, 43, Clark County Sheriff Deb Burchett said.

Noel Coles Jr., 48, was identified as a person of interest and was booked Tuesday evening into the Hancock County, Indiana, Jail, the sheriff’s office said. No further information was provided on how he was apprehended, but earlier deputies said he was to be considered “armed and dangerous.”

Noel Patrick Coles Jr.

Credit: Hancock County, Indiana, Jail

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Credit: Hancock County, Indiana, Jail

Deputies were called Tuesday morning to a home in the 100 block of Weinland Street in Park Layne to check on a woman’s wellbeing after a man said he was on the phone with a co-worker around 7:30 a.m. when he heard screaming and the phone disconnected abruptly.

“I was asking about assessments, and the next thing I know, I hear screaming and the phone drop,” the caller said.

Deputies found broken glass at the rear of the Weinland Street home around 8:10 a.m., although it was unclear if the glass was recently broken, the call disposition said.

Clark County Sheriff's Office and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation responded to an incident in the 100 block Weinland Street in Bethel Twp, Clark County Tuesday Aug. 24, 2021. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

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A spokesperson from Ohio BCI said the sheriff’s office requested BCI’s Crime Scene Unit Tuesday morning to help process a crime scene.

Yellow crime tape surrounded the home as law enforcement officers investigated.

Tecumseh Local Schools issued a “shelter in place” order for the main campus Tuesday morning for a domestic violence incident in the community, according to a notice sent to Tecumseh families by the district.

“The Clark County Sheriff’s (Office) is aware and dealing with the issue,” the notice stated. “All students safe.”

The Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center also announced it was operating under a shelter in place Tuesday morning in response to a potential threat to one of its students.

Superintendent Michelle Patrick issued an alert to families after local law enforcement advised them to shelter in place.

“We have communicated with this student and that individual is safe,” according to the alert, which also said all other students at the career technology center were safe.

Officials did not confirm the shelter in place orders at Tecumseh Local Schools and the CTC were related to the Park Layne death investigation.

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