Man pleads guilty to abandoning corpse in Camden County, sentenced to four years

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Montreal, Missouri, man pleaded guilty on Monday to abandoning a corpse and was sentenced to four years in prison.

According to previous reporting, Eric Cole, 41, was initially charged in 2022 with second-degree murder, stealing, abandonment of a corpse and conspiracy to commit a felony. Cole pleaded guilty before going to a jury trial. He is currently being held at the Camden County Jail.

Cole was accused in the death of Tanner Elmore’s overdose death, according to previous reporting.

According to the report, Elmore went missing on June 7, 2022, and surveillance photos were recovered from a Missouri Walmart. Cole was eventually taken into custody and allegedly told law enforcement that he went with Elmore to buy heroin in Jefferson City.

The report states Elmore overdosed and died. Cole then allegedly went back to Camden County and dumped Elmore’s body at the McCubbins Point area of Lake of the Ozarks State Park in a wooded area. The report states that before leaving the area, Cole took money from Elmore’s body and his cellphone.