PHOENIX (AZ Family) — A man will spend more than thirty years behind bars For killing and dismembering a Phoenix man Two years ago over a money dispute.

John Anthony Cole, 48, of Tucson, was sentenced to 31 years in prison late last month for the murder of Antoine Smith.

In September 2022, Smith was reported missing after texting friends who said Cole had kidnapped her to collect a debt from one of her roommates, court documents state. Documents say Smith told his girlfriend he was scared and shared his location, which showed he was traveling along Interstate 10 in Chandler.

The roommate then shared Cole’s phone number and Tucson address with Smith’s girlfriend. Phoenix police responded to the reported kidnapping and spoke with Smith’s other roommate; He said Cole called him and told him he would kill Smith if he didn’t get his money.

Tucson police conducted a welfare check at Cole’s home. No one was there, but officers found cleaning supplies and a bloody shovel.

Police accessed phone records that showed Cole was traveling near the Arizona-California border, documents say. DPS troopers were notified and stopped Cole near Quartzsite. Police found human remains inside the car.

Following his arrest, Cole reportedly told police that Smith had attacked him when they stopped for a restroom break on I-10 and that he had strangled her to death in self-defense. Cole then reportedly took the body to his home in Tucson and purchased several cleaning supplies to disintegrate the remains.

Cole also led investigators to a rural area south of Tucson where he dumped some of Smith’s other remains.

Earlier this year, Cole pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated assault and abandoning or concealing a corpse.

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