Michael Cole, 46, of Edmond, Oklahoma, was fatally shot multiple times in the chest on January 3, 2021, during a family gathering in the backyard of a home near Coltrane and Simmons Road in Logan County. The shooting occurred as the gathering was winding down and people were preparing to leave.

The man identified as the shooter was 29-year-old Cody Scruggs, Cole’s brother-in-law. Scruggs fled the scene, triggering a multi-agency manhunt that included the Oklahoma City Police and the Guthrie SWAT Team. He was later found hiding at a relative’s home in Edmond and taken into custody without further incident.

Authorities disclosed that Scruggs had a prior criminal history including drug charges, burglary, and animal cruelty, and that his behavior had reportedly deteriorated after his brother’s death; no definitive motive for Cole’s killing has been publicly established. Scruggs was charged with first-degree murder and booked into the Logan County Jail.

Did anyone at the gathering or nearby homes see or hear anything that could help clarify what happened that night?