Florida executes man convicted of 1994 murder of college student in national forest

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

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Loran Cole is scheduled 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.

According to court documents, Cole and a friend, William Paul, befriended the two college students in the Ocala National Forest. After chatting around a campfire, the men offered to take the siblings to a pond. Outside the campground, Cole and Paul ambushed and robbed the victims.

The 18-year-old brother, a student at Florida State University, was beaten, had his throat slit and was left in the woods. His sister, who was 21 and studying at Eckerd College, was taken back to the campsite 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 flag down a driver who asked her for help. According to court documents, police found her brother's body lying face down on the ground.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Cole's death warrant last month.

Attorneys for Cole, 57, cited several issues in their appeal, including the fact that Cole was an inmate at a state reformatory where he and other boys were beaten and raped. The state has since apologized for the abuse and passed a law this year that provides compensation for inmates at the now-closed reformatory.

Cole's lawyers 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's arguments.

Paul and Cole were convicted of first-degree murder. Paul received a life sentence.

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