On Monday, December 31, 2018 at about 5:36 p.m., Austin 9-1-1 received a call of a body found in the woods along the 7000 block of Ed Bluestein Boulevard in Austin, Texas.
A bicyclist and his friend were in the area when the friend said, “There’s a body over there.”
“Are you sure that it’s a body? Because I’m going to call the police,” the bicyclist told his friend.
“Wait for me. Maybe I saw wrong, and it’s bags of sand,” his friend said.
The friend walked down the hill near the sidewalk and into the wooded area.
“He went down, a lot farther down, and came our running, saying, ‘Yes, it’s a body.'”
The two went to the nearest gas station, and with the help of two patrons, called 9-1-1.
Austin Police, Fire and EMS arrived on scene shortly after. The body was that of a young adult female. She was nude and showed obvious signs of trauma. Dr. Mark Escott officially pronounced the woman deceased at 5:49 p.m.
Homicide investigators arrived on scene and spoke with witnesses. They are not releasing cause of death or if the victim was sexually assaulted.
The Travis County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.
A few days later, police identified the body as Nicole Diane Coleman, 23.
Authorities released surveillance video from the Kool Korner gas station showing the last movements of Nicole Coleman on Friday, December 28, 2018.
Nicole Coleman had moved to Austin from Katy, Texas two months before her murder, but she was originally from Austin. She resided in a facility near the Kool Korner gas station, a place she enjoyed frequenting. Nicole had a history of mental illness dating back to when she was a teenager and was receiving medical treatment at Austin area hospitals prior to her death.
Police initially thought Nicole’s murder was tied to an aggravated sexual assault that occurred just days before her murder.
David Green, 58, and Kyle Kenoski, 18, have both been charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection with the attack reported at Davis White Northeast Neighborhood Park off Loyola Lane on Dec. 21, according to arrest affidavits filed against them. (Huber 2019).
Investigators ruled the two men out as suspects in Nicole’s murder.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Nicole Coleman or her whereabouts prior to her death is urged to contact police. Tips can be submitted by calling (512) 477-3588, via email at homicide.apd@austintexas.gov or through Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477. You can also text “Tip 103” with information to CRIMES or using the Crime Stoppers app.
True Crime Diva’s Thoughts
I think this was a moment-of-opportunity murder. Nicole Coleman was in the wrong place at the wrong time – Kool Korner.
If you watch the surveillance video in the first part, Nicole is just walking through the parking lot, heading west. She does not go near the entrance. There is a Porta Potty on the west side, so maybe she used it. There also appears to be a surveillance camera on the gas station covering the west side, so where is this video?
Later, it looks like she is walking from the black sedan into the gas station. That’s just my thought, not sure if she actually was. It just looks that way. However, there is a bus stop on Manor Road in front of the gas station.
In the first part of the video, it’s still daylight and the timestamp says 17:26. Then later when she walks towards the entrance, it says 18:07 and it’s now dark outside. So, where was Nicole Coleman between 17:26 (5:26 pm) and 18:07 (6:07 pm)? Did she ride the bus somewhere? If so, where?
Why are we not seeing surveillance video of Nicole Coleman walking out of Kool Korner? We see her walk into it at 18:07:13 but there’s no video of her leaving. Surely, police have that.
I hope her killer is found and justice served.
Sources:
Cantu, Tony. 2019. “Austin Police Seek Public’s Help As Murder Case Grows Cold”. North Austin-Pflugerville, TX Patch.
Huber, Mary. 2019. “With Leads Elusive, Police Seek Public’s Help In Finding Woman’s Killer”. Statesman.
“Murder #35 | Austintexas.Gov – The Official Website Of The City Of Austin”. 2019. Austintexas.Gov.
Perez, Pattrik. 2019. “‘I Only Did What I Had To Do’ | Bicyclist Helps Lead Austin Police To Woman’s Body In The Woods”. KVUE ABC.