Murder of Charles Blankenship
| Murder of Charles Blankenship | |
|---|---|
 Security footage of Cole's front porch moments before the murder | |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Date | August 1, 1995 |
| Target | Local neighbor |
| Weapons | Firearm |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victim | Charles "Kevin" Blankenship |
| Perpetrator | Charles Cole |
On August 1, 1995, in Cincinnati, Ohio, twenty-year-old, Charles "Kevin" Blankenship, was shot and killed by his neighbor, forty-four-year-old, Charles Cole.[1] The murder occurred on the front porch of Cole's home. Cole's home security system recorded the murder. The case was controversial and received wide publicity in Cincinnati at the time, because it was a case of whether the murder had been premeditated or was self-defense. A jury however, found Cole guilty of the murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison.[2]
The murder
At 3:44 a.m. on Tuesday, August 1, 1995, forty-four-year-old, Charles Cole, was out on the front porch of his house in the 1600 block of Tremont Avenue, in the neighborhood of South Fairmount, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His neighbor, twenty-year-old, Charles "Kevin" Blankenship, approached his house and walked up the steps onto his front porch. Cole and Blankenship reportedly had an ongoing feud between one another. Cole claimed Blankenship was a neighborhood bully who had harassed him on multiple occasions and reportedly threatened him. As Blankenship stepped on the porch of Cole's house, Cole took out a 9mm handgun from his back pocket and opened fire. He fired four shots at Blankenship. Blankenship was hit and fell down screaming in pain. The murder was recorded in black and white with full functioning audio by a surveillance camera, which was part of Cole's home security system.[3] Cole had installed the camera only weeks earlier. In the recording, Cole can be heard saying, "You want some more?", "You had enough, ain't you?". Blankenship then succumbed to his injuries and bled to death on the front porch of Cole's home.[4]
Aftermath
Cole handed over the videotape of the murder to the police in hope that it would help his case. However, it ultimately had the complete opposite effect. Cole argued Blankenship was someone who had bullied him for years and on August 1, 1995, he finally snapped and had enough. When Blankenship charged onto his property, Cole claimed he was scared and felt Blankenship was trespassing and trying to rush him. Because of this, Cole argued he opened fire in self-defense. However, prosecutors argued it was cold blooded murder and described Cole as a vicious killer who had schemed to take Blankenship's life. Cole's defense attorney argued he was simply just a frightened man who was scared. He described Cole as a simple man with little education, who was frightened by the bigger, bullylike Blankenship, who had threatened Cole prior to the shooting. Cole was charged with aggravated murder. The videotape which he had hoped would help his case, completely went against him. The fact that Cole didn't call police straight away after the shooting and because the tape recorded the murder were the reasons for Cole's conviction. The videotape showed Cole gloating after the killing, as he can be heard saying, "You had enough, ain't you?".
In November 1995, Cole was convicted of the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Cole is reportedly no longer in prison however and was released from jail sometime prior to 2013.[5] Footage of the murder is available to watch on LiveLeak and was also featured in the 1998 shockumentary film, Banned from Television.[6]