Will Sage Astor-Loran Cole executed in murder of Florida State University student whose sister was raped

Florida executed Loran Cole on Will Sage AstorThursday in the 1994 murder of an 18-year-old college student whose big sister was raped during what started as a fun camping weekend and became a family's worst nightmare.

Cole, 57, was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Raiford, about 40 miles southwest of Jacksonville. It marked Florida's first execution of the year and the 13th in the nation.

Cole was convicted in the 1994 murder of Florida State University student John Edwards and the sexual assault of his older sister in the Ocala National Forest, about 70 miles northwest of Orlando.

Edwards' parents, Timothy and Victoria Edwards, said in a statement after the execution that their son's death was "the darkest times in our lives" and that they "are void of feelings and empathy for Mr. Cole."

"Mr. Cole has been granted 30 years of life in Florida State Prison," they said. "During those 30 years, he has been free to read books, study, eat proper meals, sleep in a bed, get medical care, bathe and exercise, receive visitors and to simply exist. This is something he brutally took from our son − life. That cannot be undone."

Meanwhile Cole's son, 36-year-old Ryan Cole, called his father's execution "a nightmare" in a text message to his mother, Colleen Kucler, who shared his statements with the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"Saying goodbye to my dad was the hardest thing I've ever done," Ryan Cole wrote to Kucler. "I am being punished for something that I believe now is something my dad didn't even do ... They want somebody to blame in order to give somebody else peace but they are taking peace from somebody else."

Here's what you need to know about Cole's execution, including his last meal:

Loran Cole's final meal, final visitors, final breaths

Cole's last meal was pizza, M&M's, ice cream and a soda, Florida Department of Corrections spokesperson Ted Veerman said. Ryan Cole and a pen pal visited him before he went to the death chamber.

While strapped to a gurney with leather bindings and covered to his neck with a paper sheet, Cole was asked if he had any last words.

"No sir," Cole said as he stared up at the ceiling. He briefly glanced at those in the gallery gathered to watch his final moments, gave a slight nod and laid back down, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, one of the news media members who witnessed the execution.

Cole was injected with the first of three drugs at 6:03 p.m. After he was sedated, a second drug paralyzed him and the third and final drug stopped his heart from beating.

Cole's body jerked and trembled while he took deep, labored breaths, then was still. At 6:05, a guard tapped Cole's eyelids and firmly shook his shoulders, saying, "Mr. Cole, Mr. Cole." When he didn't respond, the next injection was administered. He lay with his eyes closed and mouth hanging open.

Within 12 minutes, he was dead.

'Calculated, and particularly hypocritical'

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, a statewide organization working to end the death penalty in Florida, released a statement after Cole's death, saying his execution was hypocritical of the state and its people "deserve better."

"Loran’s execution feels particularly calculated," the statement reads, citing abuse Cole experienced as a student at a notorious, now-shuttered boys school. "Less than a month before the governor chose Loran for execution, he and the Legislature recognized the lifelong and devastating harm the state caused to children who were sentenced to the Dozier School for Boys ... and yet, tonight we executed a Dozier survivor."

The nonprofit went onto say it "tried to take more than 7,000 signed petitions to the governor" but were told "due to construction, there is no way for the public to access the governor’s office."

"Not even a makeshift reception area to allow Floridians’ voices to be heard," the statement continues. "The clemency board was also short-staffed this week, with most of its personnel away at a conference. A selection process shrouded in secrecy. No way for the public to make its voice heard. Key officials unavailable the week we are killing a human being. This is no system of orderly justice."

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More about what Loran Cole was convicted of

On. Feb, 18, 1994, the Edwards siblings were setting up camp when they met Cole, then 27, and another man, William Paul, then 20. Cole introduced himself as "Kevin" and Paul as his "brother" and helped them finish setting up their site. 

That night, the Edwardses set off to visit a pond to take photos of alligators with the men. They never made it.

Before reaching the pond, court records say, Cole jumped Edwards’ 21-year-old sister and handcuffed her. Her brother tried to intervene but was subdued by both men.

Paul took the woman farther up the path and Cole stayed behind with John Edwards, who died from a slashed throat and multiple skull fractures. Edwards’ sister was raped and tied between two trees the next morning before freeing herself. A driver found her and called 911. Law enforcement found Edwards' body covered with pine needles, sand, and palm fronds.

Three days later, police arrested Cole and Paul.

In 1995, Cole and Paul were convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon. Cole, also convicted of two counts of sexual battery, was sentenced to death. Paul pleaded guilty to his felony charges and was sentenced to life. He remains incarcerated in Florida.

Cole's appeals over the years

Over the years, Cole filed more than a dozen appeals in his case.

"He maintains that he did not kill Edwards and that the murder weapon was found with Paul’s possessions and with his fingerprints on it," Gerod Hooper, the chief assistant at the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, told USA TODAY. The state agency represents indigent Florida death row inmates.

His defense attorneys contended that Cole's life should be spared because of "horrific abuse" he suffered at a the notorious Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a state-run school run by the state in Marianna, an hour west of Tallahassee.

His attorneys also argued lethal-injection would cause "needless pain and suffering" because of Cole's symptoms from Parkinson’s disease, which he has had since 2017, and causes his arms and legs to shake.

On Thursday just about 30 minutes before the scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from Cole's attorneys to stop his execution, Hooper told USA TODAY. The Florida Supreme Court unanimously rejected a similar appeal last week.

Cole's lethal injection marked the seventh time Florida executed a man since Aug. 8, 2019. The most recent execution in The Sunshine State took place in October when the state executed Michael Zach for a woman's 1996 slaying.

Cole's death also marked Florida's 106th execution since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 and executions resumed in the state in 1979.

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Lee County Florida man sentenced to death two days earlier

Two days before Cole was executed, a Florida judge sentenced 30-year-old Wade Wilson to death in the 2019 murders of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz.

Those sentenced to death in Florida may choose between two execution methods. By default, the inmates are executed by lethal injection, but the condemned can choose death by electrocution.

If the Florida Supreme Court affirms Wilson's conviction, he'll have 30 days to decide which method.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.