Tiffany Cole
Encyclopedia
Tiffany Ann Cole was found guilty of the kidnapping
and first-degree murder of a Duval County, Florida
husband and wife and sentenced to death
. Also found guilty in the case were three men: Alan Wade, Bruce Nixon, and Cole's boyfriend Michael Jackson. Prosecutors said Cole and the three men developed a plan to kidnap and kill the couple to steal their money, and dug a grave for them in Charlton County, Georgia
two days before knocking on their door and asking to use the phone.
. Also, Cole had bought a car from them at the time the Sumners moved to Florida in March 2005. Cole and her boyfriend went to Florida in late June, 2005 to complete the paperwork on the car and stayed at the Sumner home.
Shortly after that visit, in early July 2005, Cole and three men appeared at the Sumners home and asked to use the phone. Reggie Sumner was choked and forced to give the intruders his ATM card and its access number
.
He and his wife were bound and gagged with duct tape
, put into the trunk of their car and driven across the border to Georgia, where, blindfolded and bound, they were pushed into the grave and buried alive.
Cole subsequently pawned jewelry and other items stolen from the Sumners' home,
and the ATM card was used to obtain more than $1000 in cash.
Three of the group were tracked back to a hotel in South Carolina by the use of the ATM card and arrested there.
Juries were later shown photos of Cole and two co-defendants in a limousine, celebrating with champagne and handfuls of cash.
At Cole's week-long trial in October 2007, the jury deliberated
less than 90 minutes before finding her guilty of first-degree murder. They voted 9 to 3 that she should receive the death penalty. Five months later, a judge handed down two death sentences for the murders, and a sentence to life in prison for the kidnappings. As of June 2011, she awaits execution at Lowell Correctional Institution Annex
.
Cole is one of four women currently on Florida's death row
, the others being Margaret Allen, Ana Maria Cardona, and Emilia Carr, all sentenced to death in unrelated cases.
Wade and Jackson also received two death sentences and await execution. Nixon, who had led police to the bodies and testified against the others, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and first-degree murder of a Duval County, Florida
Duval County, Florida
Duval County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2010, the population was 864,263. Its county seat is Jacksonville, with which the Duval County government has been consolidated since 1968...
husband and wife and sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. Also found guilty in the case were three men: Alan Wade, Bruce Nixon, and Cole's boyfriend Michael Jackson. Prosecutors said Cole and the three men developed a plan to kidnap and kill the couple to steal their money, and dug a grave for them in Charlton County, Georgia
Charlton County, Georgia
Charlton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 10,282. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 10,609. The county seat is Folkston.-History:...
two days before knocking on their door and asking to use the phone.
Capital murder case
Cole was a familiar face to Carol and Reggie Sumner, having been a neighbor of the 61-year-old couple when they lived in South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Also, Cole had bought a car from them at the time the Sumners moved to Florida in March 2005. Cole and her boyfriend went to Florida in late June, 2005 to complete the paperwork on the car and stayed at the Sumner home.
Shortly after that visit, in early July 2005, Cole and three men appeared at the Sumners home and asked to use the phone. Reggie Sumner was choked and forced to give the intruders his ATM card and its access number
Personal identification number
A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
.
He and his wife were bound and gagged with duct tape
Duct tape
Duct tape, or duck tape, is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure sensitive tape often sealed with polyethylene. It is very similar to gaffer tape but differs in that gaffer tape was designed to be cleanly removed, while duct tape was not. It has a standard width of and is generally silver or black...
, put into the trunk of their car and driven across the border to Georgia, where, blindfolded and bound, they were pushed into the grave and buried alive.
Cole subsequently pawned jewelry and other items stolen from the Sumners' home,
and the ATM card was used to obtain more than $1000 in cash.
Three of the group were tracked back to a hotel in South Carolina by the use of the ATM card and arrested there.
Juries were later shown photos of Cole and two co-defendants in a limousine, celebrating with champagne and handfuls of cash.
At Cole's week-long trial in October 2007, the jury deliberated
Deliberation
Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. In legal settings a jury famously uses deliberation because it is given specific options, like guilty or not guilty, along with information and arguments to evaluate. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and...
less than 90 minutes before finding her guilty of first-degree murder. They voted 9 to 3 that she should receive the death penalty. Five months later, a judge handed down two death sentences for the murders, and a sentence to life in prison for the kidnappings. As of June 2011, she awaits execution at Lowell Correctional Institution Annex
Lowell Correctional Institution
Lowell Correctional Institution located in unincorporated Marion County, Florida, near Ocala, was the first Florida prison for women. It was opened in April 1956 as the Florida Correctional Institution. It houses community, minimum, medium, and close custody inmates. At the time it was opened,...
.
Cole is one of four women currently on Florida's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
, the others being Margaret Allen, Ana Maria Cardona, and Emilia Carr, all sentenced to death in unrelated cases.
Wade and Jackson also received two death sentences and await execution. Nixon, who had led police to the bodies and testified against the others, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
See also
- Aileen WuornosAileen WuornosAileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer who killed seven men in Florida in 1989 and 1990, claiming they raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute...
- Judy BuenoanoJudy BuenoanoJudias "Judy" Buenoano , was a convicted murderer who was executed for the 1971 murder of her husband James Goodyear. She was also convicted for the 1980 murder of her son Michael Goodyear, and of the 1983 attempted murder of her fiancé John Gentry...
- Capital punishment in FloridaCapital punishment in FloridaCapital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Florida. Florida was the first state to reintroduce the death penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all statutes in the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision, and the first to perform a post-Furman involuntary...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
- List of females executed in the United States