According to family members, Tracy Cole, the 31-year-old great-nephew of Jazz legend Nat King Cole, was stabbed to death in downtown Atlanta on Thursday (September 14).
It’s reported that a police investigation continues as they have yet to announce an arrest nor reveal a motive in the fatal stabbing of the great-nephew of Jazz icon Nat King Cole. Being so, Tracy Cole’s family is asking the public for their help in solving the case and bringing the attacker to justice.
According to Atlanta Police Department officials, Tracy was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after 2 a.m. on Thursday after being found at an apartment complex. He was later pronounced dead, succumbing to multiple stab wounds.
Family members say Tracy lived at the apartments across from the Civil and Human Rights Museum, along with his girlfriend and her 7-year-old son. Tracy’s funeral is due to be held next Monday (September 25).
Additionally, it’s reported that Tracy was well-known in the cigar and music community. On social media, he was extremely active and promoted his passion and business as a cigar salesman. He also worked part-time at the Fellowship Cigar Lounge in downtown Atlanta, as well as the Cigar City Club in Sandy Springs.
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As mentioned, Tracy Cole comes from a great line of musical royalty. He was the great-nephew of Nat King Cole, who died in 1965; the second cousin to Natalie Cole, a Grammy Award-winning singer who died in 2015; and the grandson of Freddy Cole, also an American Jazz singer and pianist who recently passed away in 2020. It is said that Tracy took the loss of his grandfather very hard.
Speaking with WSB-TV’s Channel 2, Tracy’s uncle, Lionel Cole, issued a message all the way from Sydney, Australia. He said, “[Freddy’s passing] was crushing to Tracy. For all of us. But Tracy was really, really close to him and was there every moment he could.” And now with the passing of Tracy, Lionel adds, “It’s been a tremendous weight but my family is very strong.”
He also sent a message to the public and said, “Please come forward if you know anything that can help this investigation move forward.” And to those who might be afraid to come forward, he said, “It’s not turning on someone. It’s doing the right thing.” He added, “[The violence has] gotta stop by us actually standing up talking about what’s happening and who’s doing it.” Speaking on the passing of Freddy Cole, Lionel said,
Speaking on Tracy with Fox 5 Atlanta, his pastor Kevin Murriel, of the Cascade United Methodist Church, said, “He just brought an abundance of joy everywhere he went.” He said Tracy was a long-term member of his congregation.
Murriel also praised Tracy and said, “Tracy had that personality that just really transcended culture, it transcended race, it transcended class. Tracy made a friend of everyone. He was family. He was more than a young man in the community. He was that child who walked the floors and aisles of the church.”
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