George A. Cox Jr. was reported missing on Nov. 8, 2024. His ‘badly decomposed’ body was found on May 16. Dy’mond Vaden was arrested for his murder on Monday.

ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, Ohio — The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office has announced that Dy’mond Vaden has been indicted for her role in the death of George Cox, who was found dead in Erie County in May after first being reported missing last year.

Vaden, 32, of Cleveland, has been indicted on the following charges:

Two counts of murder (Murder A and Murder B)
Two counts of felonious assault
One count of tampering with evidence
One count of gross abuse of a corpse
One count of having weapons under disability

In addition, a second suspect, 41-year-old Emmanuel McQueen, was also indicted on one count of having weapons under disability.

The pair will be arraigned at a later date.

“George Cox Jr.’s family has waited for answers, and today they are one step closer to justice,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley in a statement. “Fortunately for his family and the State of Ohio, CDP Homicide detectives are well-trained and smarter than Dy’mond Vaden thinks.”

Credit: Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department

CASE DETAILS

Cox, 32, was reported missing to the Cleveland Division of Police by family members on Nov. 8, 2024, “with his last known communication occurring on or around Oct. 19, 2024.”

As part of its investigation, police conducted a wellness check at the home that Cox shared with Vaden in the area of Bosworth Road and Peony Avenue in Cleveland.

“Officers observed a vacant apartment with little to no furniture and what appeared to be blood on the floor. Further investigation confirmed it was Cox’s blood and Vaden was no longer living at the residence,” prosecutors noted.

On May 16 of this year, a kayaker found Cox’s body in a marshy area of the Huron River about 1000 feet south of the State Route 2 bridge in Huron Township. Investigators say the body had been bound with rope and wrapped in a bed sheet.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to assist with forensic evidence collection. The Erie County Coroner ordered an autopsy which was performed by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office in Toledo.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office also contributed to the investigation.

Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth announced on July 2 that the “badly decomposed” body was identified as Cox and the case would be turned over to the Cleveland Division of Police.

“Based upon information obtained from the autopsy, from additional research of missing persons information files, and confirmed recently through DNA profile comparison, the body has been identified as that of George A. Cox Jr., age 32,” said Sigsworth in a release.

Prosecutors report that further investigation revealed Cox’s blood was found on clothing items recovered from Vaden’s residence and the bed sheet Cox was wrapped in matched sheets found in their shared residence. Additionally, DNA evidence and phone records linked her to the crime.

Vaden was arrested on Monday at a new residence she shared with McQueen. “During the arrest, a firearm was recovered from the residence and both individuals were under disability at the time,” prosecutors stated.

Mark Bickle of 3News sister station WTOL contributed to this story