From the Miami-Dade Police Department Homicide Bureau Cold Case Squad:
Location: 1223 Wallace Street, Coral Gables, Florida.
Date & Time: 3:29 pm on Wednesday, August 3, 1994.
“At the above time, date, and location the victim was discovered unconscious inside of a duplex apartment that she owned and was renovating.
It was revealed that two wall air conditioning units were removed from the duplex and an attempt to remove a third unit was unsuccessful.
It is believed that the victim may have interrupted a burglary in progress and as a result, she was severely beaten and ultimately expired from the injuries she suffered.”
Coe Caroline Paisley died of her injuries the next day. In some newspaper articles, Coe is listed as 30 and in others she is 29 years old at the time of death. I have not been able to find her exact date of birth hence the 1964 in this post’s title. Should you know her exact date of birth, please let me know so we can adjust this post.
UPDATE: Thanks to Carla M., we now have Coe’s date of birth: Feb 10, 1965.
Additional information
Coe Caroline Paisley was the youngest of four children by parents Adelia & James Paisley.
Coe was raised in Key Biscaybe. She graduated from Coral Gables High in 1982. After high school, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Florida State University in 1984 and finished Law School at FSU in 1987.
In her law career as an attorney, she handled mostly child custody cases and helped people with social security issues.
Marriage
While digging around online for her exact date of birth, I found a marriage and a divorce notice with her name. I think it is the same woman.
The marriage between Coe and Andrew Stephen Lade took place in 1988 in Florida and there is a divorce date for 1992.
The last name Lade is in another article spelled as Lahde. I am not completely certain that this is the same Coe so, if you have any information about this, let me know.
Questions
Assuming that it is indeed Coe, my question is whether Andrew has been eliminated as a suspect. Not accusing anyone but merely brainstorming as there is very little online. Many articles are just repeated content.
Retired Detective James McColman from the Miami-Dade Police is quoted saying: “Our theory is that she surprised somebody at the residence.” There were a lot of construction workers constantly in and around the house. McColman thinks that Coe surprised a burglar, who was set on stealing window air conditioner units and, that she had seen that person before.
IF Coe knew this person it makes sense that they didn’t run away but fought with Coe to silence her. However, are those window AC units so precious that you are willing to kill for them? Those units were never found.
Coe died of blunt force trauma which usually means being beaten with fists or with a heavy object. No weapon was ever found. In none of the papers that I read is more information about her injuries except that she died the next day at Jackson Memorial Hospital. I did find that Coe was on life support when her family arrived. She had already been declared brain dead.
Briefcase
The killer took Coe’s burgundy leather briefcase and of course, the two window air conditioner units. The briefcase was found by flood control workers who were dredging a canal at Northwest 132nd Street and 27th Avenue, near Opa-Locka. Inside the briefcase was Coe’s identification but nothing of value.
The authorities hope that someone saw that briefcase being thrown into the canal. Maybe at the time, they didn’t connect it to Coe’s murder. However, if they read about the case now, they might.
Contact Information
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or, Coral Gables Police at 305-442-1600, or the Metro-Dade Homicide Squad at 305-471-2400, or to send an email to the Homicide Bureau at [email protected]
The case file number is 398197-P.
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In the series “Case of the Month” I highlight old cold cases. These posts are not an in-depth analysis and of course, often more information can be found online and in newspaper archives.
The goal of these posts is to get the cases back in the spotlights, to get people talking again, and if anything to make sure that we do not forget the victims. Just because their cases are unsolved does not mean that we can forget about them.
If you have any thoughts about this case I encourage you to post them on your own social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. Every time that we mention Coe Caroline Paisley’s name online we enhance her digital footprint.
We must make sure that she keeps her web presence if we ever wish to find answers in this case. You can help by linking to or sharing this post.
Thank you.
Rest in peace Coe Caroline Paisley.