Sherbert Maddox Rhode Island woman found dead in refrigerator. Woman’s ex boyfriend, Nathan Cooper with long criminal rap charged with her murder.
A Rhode Island man has been charged with murder after his ex girlfriend’s body was discovered in a refrigerator at the man’s Providence home according to reports.
Sherbert ‘Strawberry’ Maddox, 40, was discovered deceased at an Elmwood area apartment on Tuesday following a 911 call. The woman’s body was discovered wrapped in layers of plastic wrap, towels and blankets in a refrigerator.
Providence police believe the woman’s remains had been stored in the refrigerator for several days after her death.
Maddox’s ex boyfriend, Nathan Cooper, 53, is alleged to have shot Maddox with a stolen .38-caliber Smith & Wesson. The weapon was seized along with a rifle during a search of the residence according to The Providence Journal.
Cooper was reportedly present during Tuesday’s search following a relative calling 911.
Prior convictions for drugs and domestic violence
‘I was at work and I got a call from one of my friends that said your niece might be in trouble,’ Maddoz’s uncle told WJAR. ‘We called the police and sure enough, she was upstairs wrapped up in a refrigerator.’
Maddox’s daughter and mother said that Maddox did not live at the home where her body was found, while saying she had resided at the apartment at some point.
Maddox is believed to have been killed as early as Sunday afternoon.
Family and friends described Cooper as violent. It remained unclear how recent the woman had lived at the residence and when the former couple ‘broke up.’
‘Our investigation is showing that he did have violent tendencies toward her in the past,’ Police Major David Lapatin said according to the Boston Globe.
No prior police intervention at the residence was recorded.
‘What did you not like about her?’ said Maddox’s daughter, Shynique Garnetto, according to the Journal during the man’s court arraignment on Wednesday. ‘She made you laugh when you were sad. She was always there.’
Cooper is a felon with prior convictions for drugs and domestic violence reaching back to 1989. He was out on bail in three drug cases at the time of his arrest according to the Boston Globe.
Cooper is charged with domestic murder, possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of a firearm without a license. He remains jailed without bail according to records.
No known motive was immediately known.
