"We filmed the ceremony and Mo Brings Plenty brought his family to it, and it was a way of honoring his nephew," Kebbel tells PEOPLE
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS; Emerson Miller/Paramount+
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Marshals season 1, episode 6.
NEED TO KNOW
- The memorial scene honoring the Yellowstone character Monica (Kelsey Asbille) in the April 5 episode of Marshals acted as a chance for star Mo Brings Plenty to mourn the loss of his nephew Cole Brings Plenty
- Arielle Kebbel tells PEOPLE that Mo brought his family to set when they filmed Monica’s memorial scene, “and it was a way of honoring his nephew”
- Cole was found dead in April 2024, days after he was declared missing and named a suspect in a domestic violence case. He was 27
The latest episode of Marshals doubled as a real-life memorial ceremony for Cole Brings Plenty.
In the April 5 episode of the Yellowstone spinoff series, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) was honored on the first anniversary of her death with a remembrance ceremony on the Brocken Rock reservation. Her son Tate (Brecken Merrill), late husband Kayce (Luke Grimes), and grandfather (Rudy Ramos) attended to pay tribute.
Marshals star Arielle Kebbel reveals that the scene doubled as a real memorial for Cole Brings Plenty, an actor who was featured in another Yellowstone spinoff, 1923. Cole's uncle, Mo Brings Plenty, reprises his Yellowstone character, Mo, in Marshals.
"We filmed the ceremony and Mo Brings Plenty brought his family to it, and it was a way of honoring his nephew," Kebbel tells PEOPLE. "I will remember that day for as long as I live. It was very emotional."
Cole was found dead in April 2024, days after he was declared missing and named a suspect in a domestic violence investigation. He was 27.
"It was very emotional," Kebbel continues. "And it was a real reminder that the lines between art and life are very blurred and very powerful."
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS
In the scene, Kebbel's Belle and her Marshals squad, Pete 'Cal' Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green), Andrea Cruz (Ash Santos) and Miles Kittle (Tatanka Means) — were all on hand to support their teammate, Kayce, on the emotional day.
Offscreen, she met the Brings Plenty family, whom she calls "such a beautiful community."
"They're sending me handmade jewelry that I'm going to wear in their honor," she says. "I mean, it brings me to tears to be part of this community and also to learn more about what happened to Cole and bring that awareness."
The experience, she adds, is one that "you can never plan for going into it, but has deeply impacted me forever."
Having Mo and Thomas Rainwater (played by Gil Birmingham) both back for the spinoff series made her "really grateful," she says, along with the young actor who plays Kayce and Monica's son.
"Kayce's storyline is — he is the in-between from the Duttons to the Rez and to East Camp, and his character brings all of that history to the front lines in our storylines now," she says. "And so to have Gil and Mo Brings Plenty a part of this project feels very, very special."
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Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Cole was found dead in April 2024 just days after he was named a suspect in a domestic violence case and reported missing. Last month, Mo told The Hollywood Reporter that the loss was "heartbreaking," as Cole "was my nephew, but he was like a son to me."
"For his murder to go uninvestigated, and for it to be written off as 'no foul play,' because they didn’t want to invest anything into it? It’s heartbreaking," Mo claimed. "Because we’re taxpaying people as well. So for them to not work for us, no different than how they work for anyone else is pretty sad."
Following Mo's comments, both the Lawrence Police Department and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, both of which were involved in investigating Mo's disappearance and death, shared statements with PEOPLE.
"The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough investigation in the death of Cole Brings Plenty and revealed these findings to the family. JCSO is unable to provide details of the investigation due to the court order obtained by the family sealing the records from public release," a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department told PEOPLE that their "condolences go out to [the family] today just as they did at the time" and they said they are "willing to release a full report of our investigative efforts and results," should they get the "family's permission."
"We provided a complete, in-person presentation of the evidence to the family, which included videos, witness statements, and photographs. The family chose not to release the facts. Out of compassion, we complied with their wishes," the spokesperson said. The Brings Plenty family "petitioned the court to seal the autopsy report, medical examiner’s case file, law enforcement case files of the Lawrence, Kansas Police Department and the Johnson County, Kansas Sheriff’s Department, and the Death Certificate of Cole Brings Plenty."
"The entire case contains clear evidence that there was no foul play involved in Cole’s death and that Cole acted alone. Any confusion and speculation are a result of the family’s messaging," the spokesperson added.
New episodes of Marshals air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
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