He Thought His Wife Was Still In Prison, Only To See PHOTO With Her New Man Online, It Ended In…. | HO

DETROIT — For Lamar Cole, the night of September 12th began like any other: a quiet kitchen, a cold cup of coffee, four children asleep upstairs. But at 11:47 p.m., a Facebook notification shattered his world.

The image that appeared on his phone was unmistakable—his wife, Kimberly Cole, smiling across a candlelit table in an upscale Chicago restaurant, her fingers intertwined with a man Lamar had never seen before. The caption beneath the photo was a knife to the heart: “Six months with my soulmate. Sometimes the best love stories get a second chance.”

There was just one problem. According to every official document Lamar possessed, Kimberly Cole was supposed to be locked behind bars for another six months, serving out a three-year sentence for aggravated assault. The reality was far more chilling—and what unfolded next became one of the most disturbing cases of betrayal, obsession, and deadly jealousy in recent memory.

The Crime That Started It All

Kimberly Cole, once a devoted mother of four, had watched her life unravel after a single, violent act. In a fit of jealous rage, she shot Lamar’s coworker Leona Webb in the shoulder outside a Detroit diner, convinced that her husband was having an affair. The evidence told a different story—Leona had simply been meeting her brother for lunch. But Kimberly’s paranoia had already rewritten reality.

Sentenced to three years in prison, Kimberly’s absence left Lamar to pick up the pieces for their children: Malik, Jasmine, and twins Kenya and Keon. He visited her every Sunday at Riverside Correctional, clinging to the hope that forgiveness could heal what violence had broken.

But as the months passed, Kimberly grew distant. Calls stopped. Letters ceased. The prison told Lamar she’d requested “no contact,” needing space to process her rehabilitation.

Early Release, New Lies

Unbeknownst to Lamar, Kimberly had been quietly working toward early release. Anger management classes, victim impact programs—she checked every box the Department of Corrections required. Six months ahead of schedule, she walked out of Riverside Correctional with a bus ticket to Chicago and a phone number for Leroy Stone, a man from her past.

Leroy had been Kimberly’s boyfriend decades earlier, back when she was just 19 and working the night shift at a diner. Their romance ended when she met Lamar, but prison loneliness rekindled old flames. Letters led to phone calls, phone calls to promises. By the time Kimberly stepped off the Greyhound at Union Station, Leroy was waiting for her with open arms—and a clean slate.

Within weeks, Kimberly moved into Leroy’s Rogers Park apartment. She hid the truth about her past, telling Leroy she was a widow, that her husband had died in a car accident. She never mentioned the four children she’d left behind in Detroit, or the prison sentence she’d just completed. The only evidence of her old life was a faded tattoo on her wrist—Leroy’s name, inked years ago and now uncovered for her new beginning.

The Facebook Discovery

Back in Detroit, Lamar tried to shield his children from heartbreak. “She’s working on getting better,” he told them, even as their questions grew more pointed. But the truth was impossible to hide once Facebook’s algorithm served him the unthinkable: Kimberly, alive and well, living a new life with another man.

Lamar scrolled through photos—Navy Pier, Cubs games, cozy coffee shops, Kimberly glowing with happiness he hadn’t seen in years. The worst blow came from a close-up of her wrist, the tattoo of Leroy’s name peeking out beneath a delicate bracelet. The woman he’d married, the mother of his children, was building a future on a foundation of lies.

The Confrontation

Unable to sleep, Lamar made a decision that would change everything. At 3:00 a.m., he got in his car and drove nearly four hours to Chicago, determined to confront Kimberly face-to-face. Her address was easy to find—Leroy had tagged their location in dozens of photos.

When Kimberly opened the door of apartment 6B, she looked startled, not guilty. Lamar asked the questions that had haunted him for months: Why hadn’t she called? Why hadn’t she come home to her children? Why was she living with another man?

Kimberly’s response was cold, almost irritated. “I’m not that person anymore,” she said. “I’m someone else now.” Leroy, confused and concerned, joined them in the hallway. Only then did Lamar learn the extent of Kimberly’s deception—she had told Leroy she was a widow, that her children had died in a car accident. The lies unraveled in real time, leaving Leroy betrayed and Lamar heartbroken.

“I’m filing for divorce,” Lamar told her. “I’m going to tell the kids you’re not coming home.”

The Murder

The fallout from Lamar’s visit was swift. Leroy, shaken by the revelation of Kimberly’s past and her web of lies, began to pull away. He told Kimberly he needed time, space to think about whether he could trust her again.

For Kimberly, time was the enemy. The paranoia that had once driven her to violence resurfaced. She watched Leroy for signs of betrayal, convinced he was preparing to leave her just like Lamar had. Three days after Lamar’s visit, Leroy came home and said the words Kimberly dreaded: “I think we need to talk.”

The conversation was gentle, but Kimberly’s mind raced with fear. When Leroy said he needed to stay with his brother for a while, Kimberly reached for the .38 special he’d bought for her protection. The gun felt familiar, the weight comforting in her hand. In a moment of chilling clarity, she raised the weapon and fired a single shot into Leroy’s chest.

Aftermath and Trial

Leroy’s brother, Dany, a Chicago firefighter, arrived at the apartment to find his brother dead on the kitchen floor. Police responded within minutes. Kimberly confessed immediately. “I did it,” she told detectives. “I shot him. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t.”

The trial was swift. Kimberly Cole was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The courtroom was packed—Leroy’s family, coworkers, friends. Lamar sat in the back row, his face a mask of grief and relief. The woman who had abandoned her children, who had lied and killed for love, was finally behind bars for good.

A Family Shattered

For Lamar and his children, closure is complicated. They must live with the knowledge that the woman who once sang them lullabies and packed their school lunches chose a stranger over her own family—and ultimately destroyed every hope of redemption.

Kimberly Cole’s story is a chilling reminder of the dangers of unchecked obsession, the destructive power of paranoia, and the irreversible consequences of betrayal. In the end, her need for certainty cost her everything: her marriage, her children, her freedom, and the life of a man who simply wanted to love her.