Son Accused Of Dumping Dad's Body In Gladwyne Has Hearing Moved

GLADWYNE, PA – Robert Coult III, the man accused of beating and stabbing his father to death then dumping his body in Gladwyne, had his first court appearance since his arrest continued, according to court records.

Coult III, 30, of Yeadon, was to appear in a Delaware County court Tuesday morning for his preliminary hearing, but that hearing was continued to Nov. 20, court documents show.

He faces charges of criminal homicide, first- and third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence, after allegedly beating and stabbing his father to death then trying to dismember his body and hide it.

These charges carry lifetime sentence and remains in custody without bail.

The grisly murder played out sometime between Friday, Sept. 14 and Saturday, Sept. 15 inside the home he shared with his father, Robert Coult Jr, 50, on Providence Road in Yeadon.

Coult Jr.'s body was found at about 7:30 a.m. the morning of Sept. 15 at the Philadelphia Country Club the 1600 block of Spring Mill Road, in the Gladwyne section of Lower Merion Township.

Yeadon Police Chief Anthony Paparo said Coult III did not show remorse for his actions after admitting to the killing.

Coult Jr. was reported missing on Sunday, Sept. 16 by his girlfriend after being last seen Friday, Sept. 14, police said.

His girlfriend told police she spoke with him at 5 p.m. Friday but then tried to call him at 5:30 p.m. and was not able to reach him, police said.

The girlfriend provided Pennsylvania State Police with a photo of Coult III, who then gave the photo to Lower Merion Police.

As Yeadon Police were investigating Coult Jr.'s disappearance, Lower Merion Police confirmed him as the deceased man, police said.

After a joint investigation, Coult III admitted to county detectives that he killed his father following an argument about a small amount of money, which led to his arrest and charges being filed, police said.

Coult III told investigators in his confession that his father pushed him down a set of stairs, Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said. Coult III told authorities he repeatedly hit his father over the head with a hammer then got a knife and repeatedly stabbed him, Copeland said.

Copeland said Monday that Coult III "brutally" bludgeoned and stabbed his father to death and tried to dismember the body with an electric saw to hide it.

He took his dad's clothes off and put a fresh T-shirt on him, put him in his vehicle, and took him to Lower Merion where he dumped the body. Copeland said Coult III seat belted his father into the vehicle and laid his head against the headrest.

Coult also admitted to dumping evidence in Haverford Township, police said.

Authorities said when a woman who was living at the Providence Road home arrived there with her boyfriend Sept. 15 after being out overnight Sept. 14, Coult acted normally and played videos with the boyfriend, just hours after the death.

Action News reports, Coult Jr.'s brother said Coult III was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at a young age, subsequently spent time under a psychiatrists' care, and had been admitted to the psych ward at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital on several occasions.

The outlet also reports Coult III recently stopped taking his medications and had previous altercations with his father, according to family members.

Additionally, acquaintances of Coult III said he would make death threats on social media posts and in drawings, but police did not act on those alleged threats, Action News reports.

Yeadon Police have been previously called to their Providence Road home for domestic disputes, however neither son nor father had any arrest records, Paparo said.

Image via Yeadon Police