Rhode Island man sentenced to prison for killing girlfriend Sherbert Maddox, putting her in refrigerator

Attorney General Peter Neronha announced Tuesday that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve two consecutive life sentences at the Adult Correctional Institutions for murdering Sherbert Maddox in 2022.

At a hearing on September 26, 2023, Superior Court Justice Robert Krause sentenced 54-year-old Nathan Cooper to serve two consecutive life sentences at the ACI, with two concurrent 10-year sentences to serve at the ACI.

On May 15, 2023, a jury found the defendant guilty of one count of second-degree murder, one count of discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence resulting in death, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

During the trial, the State proved that on March 16, 2022, the defendant shot and killed his girlfriend, Sherbert Maddox, in his apartment on Parkis Avenue in Providence.

On March 22, 2022, several members of the victim’s family flagged down a Providence Police officer on Parkis Avenue, claiming the victim had been murdered by the defendant and her body was being stored in his apartment. Upon entering the residence, police found a .38 caliber revolver and a shotgun, and discovered that the refrigerator was moved from the kitchen to the defendant’s bedroom and tied shut with cord.

Inside the refrigerator, police discovered the victim’s body wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap and bedding. The medical examiner later determined that the victim died from a single gunshot wound to her chest.

Assistant Attorney General Scott Erickson and Special Assistant Attorney General Ariel Pittner of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Angelo A’Vant of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.