*Lured into the Darkness: The Execution of Loran Cole*
After nearly three decades, the case that has haunted Florida has come to a close as Loran Cole, a convicted murderer and rapist, was executed at Florida State Prison.
The 57-year-old inmate was executed by lethal injection after a last-minute attempt to delay his fate was rejected.
His crime? The brutal murder of an 18-year-old college freshman and the horrific rape of the victim’s sister in the remote depths of Ocala National Forest.
The gruesome events that led to Cole’s death sentence began during what seemed like an ordinary camping trip.
On a cold November night in 1994, two college students, driven by a thirst for adventure, ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The siblings—a Florida State University student and his 21-year-old sister from Eckerd College—were savoring the tranquility of the Ocala National Forest wilderness.
However, their peaceful outing took a sinister turn when they encountered Loran Cole and his accomplice, William Paul.
Once they were isolated, the true horror began to unfold.
The 18-year-old brother was the first to encounter the fury of Cole and Paul.
The sister’s ordeal was far from finished.
She was forcibly taken back to the campsite, where Cole subjected her to a brutal sexual assault that would torment her for the rest of her life.
