A 32-year-old Ohio woman has been arrested for allegedly killing her boyfriend, who was reported missing late last year before being discovered by a kayaker in the Huron River in May.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury returned a true bill indicting Dy’mond Vaden on two counts of murder and felonious assault, as well as one count each of tampering with evidence, gross abuse of a corpse, and possessing weapons under disability in the death of George Cox Jr., authorities announced.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office issued a news release stating that Cox’s family reported him missing on November 8, 2024. The family reported to authorities that their last communication with the 32-year-old occurred on or around October 19, 2024.
The case was assigned to the Cleveland Division of Police’s (CDP) Missing Persons Unit. Officers conducted a welfare check at the home Cox was thought to be sharing with Vaden, who police identified as his then-girlfriend.
Police responded to a suspicious scene near 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,” the release states. “Further investigation confirmed it was Cox’s blood and Vaden was no longer living at the residence.”
Months later, on May 15, 2025, two kayakers were paddling in a shallow area of the Huron River when they discovered a body “bound with rope and wrapped in a bed sheet,” according to prosecutors. The kayakers immediately called 911, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene. A preliminary investigation confirmed the deceased’s identity as George Cox Jr.
According to Shaker Heights, Ohio-based CBS affiliate WOIO, Cox’s body was wrapped in a “fitted bed sheet” and “bound with marine-style rope.”
Prosecutors said they soon discovered that blood found on clothing items recovered from Vaden’s home tested positive for Cox. Cox’s body was wrapped in a bed sheet that matched the sheets in their shared home.
Prosecutors said that additional DNA evidence and phone records linked Vaden to the crime.
Authorities have not released any information about Cox’s possible cause of death.
On July 21, 2025, police located and arrested Vaden at her new home, which she shared with 41-year-old Emmanuel McQueen Jr., and allegedly discovered a firearm.
McQueen was also charged with one count of having a weapon while disabled.
“George Cox Jr.’s family has waited for answers, and today they are one step closer to justice,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a statement to accompany the release. “Fortunately for his family and the State of Ohio, CDP Homicide detectives are well-trained and smarter than Dy’mond Vaden thinks.”
It was not immediately clear when Vaden would appear in court.
