A Florida man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping the student's sister while the siblings camped in a national forest 30 years ago is set to be executed on Thursday at Florida State Prison. Loran Cole, who is also serving two life sentences for rape, is facing the death penalty for the 1994 killing.
Cole and a friend, William Paul, befriended the two college students in the Ocala National Forest. After luring them away from the campsite under false pretenses, Cole and Paul attacked the siblings, robbing them and subjecting them to a horrific ordeal. The brother, an 18-year-old student at Florida State University, was brutally beaten, had his throat slit, and left in the forest. His sister, a 21-year-old senior at Eckerd College, was tied up, raped, and left overnight tied to a tree before managing to seek help.
Despite arguments from Cole's defense team citing his troubled past at a state-run reform school, where he suffered abuse, brain damage, mental illness, and Parkinson's disease, the state Supreme Court upheld the decision for his execution. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Cole last month, paving the way for the scheduled execution.
This case marks the first execution in Florida since last October when Michael Zack was put to death for a separate murder case. The tragic events that unfolded in the national forest three decades ago have left a lasting impact on the victims' families and the community at large.
