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Widow of Slain Maine Sheriff's Deputy Reflects on Last Moments With Husband

The widow of the Maine sheriff's deputy who was killed last week is reflecting on her last memories of her husband.

Sheryl Cole, the wife of slain Cpl. Eugene Cole, posted to Facebook Monday morning that the last thing she told her husband was to be safe as he headed out the door to his Tuesday 4 p.m. shift.

In the post, Sheryl Cole recalled being annoyed that her husband left his razor out in the living room.

"Really? You're just gonna leave that razor sitting on the stand in the living room?! That’s gross!" He would just tell me he’d put it away later. I told him I loved him and to be safe, as I did every day, and his response, as it is every day - "Absolutely."

Sheryl Cole went on to say the 61-year-old returned home for a few minutes in the evening and the two chatted briefly before he headed back out the door.

"He talked about the full moon and how it brought all the "crazies" out. We talked a little, and abruptly he’d give me a hurried kiss and say he had to go. On his way out, he spotted the razor still sitting where he left it and gave me a look like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Anyway, we said our ritual goodbye, ending with me saying (or yelling ) "Be safe," and him responding, "Absolutely."

Sheryl Cole said the next time she would see her husband he was in a casket.

Early on the morning on April 25, Eugene Cole was gunned down on Route 2 in Norridgewock. The suspect, John Williams, 21, allegedly stole Cole's marked cruiser and robbed a Cumberland Farms store on Waterville Road. He then fled in the stolen cruiser before finally being caught four days later at a camp off of Route 139 in Norridgewock.

While waiting for Williams to be captured, Sheryl Cole wrote in her Facebook post that it was torture.

"The last five days have been the purest form of hell and torture. The waiting when they couldn’t find his body, the finality when they did, and the uncertainty of the days that followed," she wrote.

Williams is scheduled to make his initial court appearance at the Capitol Judicial Center in Augusta on Monday.

Sheryl Cole said she has had overwhelming support from family, friends, and the community and is thankful for everyone's support.

"I am the wife of Corporal Eugene Cole. I am not a widow (I always told him the "til death do us part" thing wasn’t going to get him out of anything). I am not a victim. With the help and support of my family, my community, and my country, I will get through this," Sheryl Cole said.

Sheryl Cole's full Facebook post can be read below:

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