Florida to execute man convicted of killing college student in national forest in 1994

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping her sister while the siblings were camping in a national forest 30 years ago is set to be executed Thursday.

Loran Cole is set to be executed shortly after 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison for the 1994 murder. Cole is also serving two life sentences for rape. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Cole’s latest appeal.

According to court records, Cole and a friend, William Paul, befriended the two college students in the Ocala National Forest. After talking around a campfire, the men offered to take the brothers to see a pond. While they were away from the camp, Cole and Paul attacked the victims and robbed them.

The brother, an 18-year-old student at Florida State University, was beaten, had his throat slit and was left in the woods. His sister, a 21-year-old senior at Eckerd College, was taken back to the camp, where Cole tied her up and raped her.

The woman was tied to a tree overnight and raped again the next day. She eventually managed to free herself and call a driver for help. Police found her brother’s body lying face down on the ground, according to court records.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Cole’s death warrant last month.

Lawyers for Cole, 57, raised several points in their appeal, including the fact that Cole was held at a state reform school where he and other boys were beaten and raped. The state has apologized for the abuse and this year passed a law authorizing reparations for inmates at the now-closed reform school.

Cole’s attorneys also argued that he should not be executed because he suffers from brain damage, mental illness and Parkinson’s disease.

The state Supreme Court rejected the defense arguments.

Paul and Cole were found guilty of first-degree murder. Paul was sentenced to life in prison.

The execution will be the first in Florida since Michael Zack was executed last October for the 1996 murder of Ravonne Smith.

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