Marshals dedicated a memorial for Monica one year after her death, which also served as a ceremony to Yellowstone star Mo Brings Plenty‘s late nephew Cole.
During the Sunday, April 5, episode of the CBS series, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) was honored in a traditional remembrance ceremony on the Broken Rock reservation with son Tate (Brecken Merrill), husband Kayce (Luke Grimes) and grandfather (Rudy Ramos) paying tribute.
Star Arielle Kebbel later revealed that the fictional event was also a real memorial for Cole Brings Plenty, who appeared on Yellowstone spinoff 1923. His uncle, Mo Brings Plenty, currently plays Mo in Marshals.
Kebbel told People that Mo’s attended the event after Cole’s death. In March 2024, a warrant was issued for Cole’s arrest in relation to a domestic violence incident. According to a press release, authorities were called to the scene after reports of a screaming woman, but Cole had fled in his vehicle before they arrived. Mo and his Yellowstone costar Cole Hauser asked for the public’s assistance in finding his nephew.
Days later, Cole was found dead at age 27. A cause of death was not released. Mo, however, recently questioned how the investigation into Cole’s disappearance — and death — was handled.
“He was my nephew, but he was like a son to me. And for his murder to go uninvestigated, and for it to be written off as ‘no foul play,’ because they didn’t want to invest anything into it? It’s heartbreaking,” Mo claimed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in March. “Because we’re taxpaying people as well. So for them to not work for us, no different than how they work for anyone else is pretty sad.”
Mo accused authorities of not putting “much effort into” investigating the circumstances of Cole’s disappearance and subsequent death.
“In fact, they weren’t even really looking for him. They were hunting him,” he told the outlet.“They weren’t searching for him.”
Mo encouraged others to “spread the message” as Cole’s family is “not letting it go.”
“There are a lot of families such as mine that are going through this right now, and we still have a lot of unanswered questions,” he continued. “Because I saw his body, I saw the evidence that is there, that someone caught him. So for them to say that there was nothing, I can’t believe that. I still can’t.”
He added: “It was a hard loss for us because this was an individual who was speaking our language, singing our songs and carrying on our traditions. He was the future for us. We want more and more of our young people to be inspired to pick up who we are from a cultural perspective.”
The Lawrence Police Department publicly addressed Mo’s comments, telling Us Weekly in a statement, “We understand this was a very difficult loss for the family and our condolences go out to them today just as they did at the time. We provided a complete, in-person, presentation of the evidence to the family which included videos, witness statements, and photographs. The family chose not to release the facts. Out of compassion we complied with their wishes.”
The statement continued: “Once the case concluded, the family petitioned the court to seal the autopsy report, medical examiner’s case file, law enforcement case files of the Lawrence, Kansas Police Department and the Johnson County, Kansas Sheriff’s Department, and the Death Certificate of Cole Brings Plenty. A judge signed it. The entire case contains clear evidence that there was no foul play involved in Cole’s death and that Cole acted alone. Any confusion and speculation are a result of the family’s messaging. With the family’s permission, we are willing to release a full report of our investigative efforts and results.”
