TOLEDO -- The case of a murdered Toledo mother went unsolved for more than two years -- until Thursday night. Police have arrested 34-year-old Damiene Boles, charging him for the murder of Cori Key.
Key's family is hoping now to find some peace. "This is the best present we could've ever wished for to happen," said John Key, Cori's uncle.
For two years, the Key family waited to see Boles put behind bars, they said. "It's your time. You got to pay for what you did," John Key said.
"I was happy to see him standing there. Nobody can take our joy right now," Cori's cousin, Vonya Hill, said.
Key and Boles had been dating for five years and even had a child together. But, when Cori broke it off, the abuse Boles had visited upon his child's mother turned deadly, her family said.
"He's a wimp to another man," said John Key. "But to women, he's vicious. He told her she wouldn't see her next birthday," John Key said. "He murdered her a day before her birthday."
The family comforts themselves with memories of Cori. "We can rest. She can rest in peace," said Hill, adding that Boles, "needs to pay for what he did. He needs to rot in jail."
The judge issued a $500,000 bond on Friday. Boles' next court date is Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Key was found stabbed to death in the bathtub of her home in the 1100th block of Oakwood on July 31, 2004. Detectives say Boles tried to cover up the crime by lighting candles and turning on the natural gas in the home.
Earlier this year the city offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Key's killer. She left behind two young sons.
Count on News 11 to follow this case as it develops.
