A Hot Springs man pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder this week in the slaying of his former neighbor in 2013, records show.
Alfred Nickson, 57, was sentenced to 25 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction in the death of Freddie Cole, 73, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in Garland County Circuit Court. Nickson was initially charged with first-degree murder.
Cole was found Dec. 6, 2013, inside Apartment A at 220-B Manor Circle when responding officers were called to the residence for a welfare check, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. His body had signs of trauma to his upper body and hands, according to the affidavit.
Nickson initially told authorities that he last saw Cole while take some groceries into his apartment the night before his death, later changing his story to police to include that he used cocaine in Cole's bathroom after helping with groceries and left soon after.
Police said Nickson denied any physical contact with Cole at the time and agreed to a DNA sample, which found Nickson's DNA under Cole's fingernails.