Michael Adam Oleisky, a 42-year-old White / Caucasian male, lived in Tucson, Arizona, where he was known as a warm, funny and devoted family man with a wide circle of friends. He loved to travel, especially on trips to Sedona and overseas visits to Israel, and he remained closely connected to his Jewish community. He was the son of Arthur and Betejoy Oleisky, the brother of Jonathan, and the father of two children, Marissa and Sebastian, for whom he cared deeply and whose education he strongly
encouraged.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 13, 2015, neighbors in midtown Tucson, near East Edison Street and North Northway Avenue, were jolted awake by the sounds of a heated argument coming from Michael’s apartment, followed by gunshots. Alarmed residents called 911, and Tucson Police officers arrived to find Michael inside his apartment, mortally wounded by gunfire. His death was quickly classified as a homicide, and later documentation describes it as a fatal shooting that occurred inside his home.
Witness accounts indicated that two men were seen running from the scene immediately after the shooting, prompting detectives to investigate the killing as a home-invasion style crime. Over the following weeks, homicide investigators developed leads that connected the case to a young man named Charles Allen Cole, with whom Michael reportedly had a drug-related relationship. Court records later stated that Cole shot Michael three times. On October 29, 2015, two suspects were arrested in connection with the murder, an update that Michael’s brother publicly shared while thanking Tucson Police for their work and urging anyone with additional information to contact authorities.
In November 2015, prosecutors formally indicted Cole on multiple counts, including first-degree murder for Michael’s killing. As the case moved toward trial, further evidence emerged: while out on pretrial release for an unrelated assault and robbery case, Cole sold a rifle to an undercover officer, and forensic testing linked that rifle to the bullets used in Michael’s homicide. Faced with this evidence, Cole went to trial but ultimately accepted a plea deal on the second day of proceedings in January 2019, admitting guilt to second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In March 2019, he was sentenced to 27½ years in prison. At sentencing, Michael’s family delivered victim impact statements describing their grief and loss, and the court treated his killing as a serious, unprovoked act of violence that warranted a lengthy term of incarceration.
In the years since the crime, Michael’s family and friends have focused on honoring his memory and supporting the children he left behind. A memorial scholarship effort was launched to help ensure that Marissa and Sebastian could achieve the college education Michael had wanted for them, turning some of the community’s grief into a practical commitment to their future. Online tributes and obituary entries continue to remember him as a kind, humorous, and loving son, brother, father, and friend, emphasizing both the senseless nature of his death and the enduring impact of his life on those who knew him.
