He appeared in the Clark County Common Pleas Court on Monday for the start of his trial. Jurors were selected and opening statements delivered.
New evidence was discovered Tuesday morning that made proceeding with the trial unfair to both the defense and the state, Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll said.
The defense filed a motion for a mistrial, and prosecutors did not object, Driscoll said.
A new trial date for the case has been set for the end of January, according to Coles’ attorney Matthew Barbato.
Barbato said he is excited to present the case next month.
Jacqueline Coles was found dead on Aug. 24 last year in her Weinland Street house.
Jacqueline Coles filed a petition on Aug. 5, 2021, for an order of protection against her estranged husband for herself and three children, court records state.
She stated in her protection order petition that Noel Coles Jr. had threatened to kill her “multiple times.” She cited an incident when he was at her residence “to talk” in her backyard and covered her mouth to muffle her screams. She said her teenage son walked outside and saw it happen.
Noel Coles Jr. is accused of breaking into the house while Jacqueline Coles was on the phone with a co-worker. Assistant prosecutor Erica Lunderman said on Monday that Jacqueline Coles was shot six times.
Noel Coles Jr. told deputies on Aug. 24, 2021, that he was in the area of Weinland Street in the morning to watch his kids board their school bus. The following day, he was arrested in Hancock County, Indiana. Clark County Sheriff’s deputies returned Coles to Ohio.
Barbato said Noel Coles Jr. was not fleeing the area at the time; rather, he was helping a friend deliver a husky to someone in California.
Jacqueline Coles was the director of nursing at Laurelwood Assisted Living in Dayton and a mother.
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