Tiffany Ann Cole (born December 3, 1981) is an American convicted murderer who 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.[1] As of February 2015, Cole was the third youngest woman on death row in the United States;[2] she was 26 at the time of her conviction. Cole was resentenced to life imprisonment in 2023.
Tiffany Cole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Tiffany Ann Cole December 3, 1981 South Carolina, U.S. |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (2 counts) Kidnapping (2 counts) Robbery (2 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Death; resentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole |
Date apprehended | July 2005 |
Background
editTiffany Cole knew the victims, 61-year-old Carol and Reggie Sumner, prior to the murders; both Cole's family and the Sumners knew each other from when they both lived in South Carolina. The Sumners moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in March 2005, after which they sold a car to Cole. Cole agreed to make monthly payments on the car and frequently drove to Jacksonville with friends.[citation needed]
Crime
editIn June 2005, during one of her excursions to Jacksonville, Cole and her new boyfriend, Michael James Jackson, stayed at the Sumners' house; during this time, Jackson discussed plans with Cole to rob the Sumners and steal money from their bank accounts.[3][4] In early July 2005, Cole, Jackson, and two men, Alan Wade and Bruce Nixon, drove to the Sumners' home. Wade and Nixon approached the Sumners' door and asked to use their phone. Upon being granted entry, Nixon threatened the couple with a fake gun, while Wade, carrying duct tape, bound, gagged, and blindfolded the Sumners. Wade and Nixon then searched for personal financial documents in the Sumners' home before calling Jackson for assistance in finding ATM information. Jackson was unable to locate the couple's personal identification numbers. While searching the Sumners' home, Wade, Nixon, and Jackson stole Reggie's coin collection, mail, and bank records, as well as several items of jewelry. The Sumners, still bound and gagged, were then taken outside and locked into the trunk of their own Lincoln Town Car. Wade and Nixon drove the Lincoln to Georgia, while Cole and Jackson followed in a Mazda vehicle, until they reached a remote part of Georgia near which they had prepared a pre-dug grave for the Sumners. Wade and Nixon drove the Lincoln to the grave site, and Jackson accompanied them, while Cole remained by the road in the Mazda. After driving the Lincoln to the grave site, investigators believe the Sumners told Jackson their PIN codes, which he recorded on a yellow notepad, after which they were placed into the grave, still alive. Investigators believe that while Nixon returned to the Mazda with Cole, Wade and Jackson remained at the grave and filled it with dirt, after which they drove away, leaving Carol and Reggie Sumner buried alive; a medical examiner found that the couple suffocated to death.[5][6][7]
Cole subsequently pawned jewelry and other items stolen from the Sumners' home,[8] and the ATM card was used to obtain more than $1,000 USD in cash. Investigators tracked three members of the group back to a hotel in South Carolina by their use of the Sumners' ATM card and arrested them there. After being arrested, Nixon willingly led police to the Sumners' grave.[citation needed]
Conviction
editAt Cole's week-long trial in October 2007, the jury deliberated for less than 90 minutes before finding her guilty of first-degree murder.[9] They voted 9-3 for her to receive the death penalty.[6] Evidence included photos of Cole and two co-defendants in a limousine, celebrating with champagne and hands full of cash.[citation needed]
Five months later, a judge handed down two death sentences for the murders, and a sentence of life in prison for the kidnappings. Cole awaited execution at Lowell Correctional Institution Annex.[10]
Cole was one of three women on Florida's death row, the others being Margaret Allen and Tina Brown, each sentenced to death in unrelated murders.[11][12] Of the previous 14 women[citation needed] ever sentenced to death in Florida since the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia ruling, two were executed (Judy Buenoano in 1998, and Aileen Wuornos in 2002).
Wade and Jackson also received death sentences. Nixon, who had led police to the bodies and testified against the others, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 55 years in prison.[8]
In 2017, the Florida Supreme Court ordered new sentencing hearings for Cole, Wade, and Jackson because their juries had not unanimously recommended the death penalty.[13] A 2016 U.S Supreme Court ruling, Hurst v. Florida, found that Florida's prior law permitting non-unanimous jury verdicts in death penalty cases violated the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[14] prompting Florida to resentence more than 150 convicted felons under death sentences.[15][16] In June 2022, Wade was resentenced to life in prison.[17] In August 2023, Jackson was resentenced to death.[18] Cole was resentenced to life imprisonment on August 23, 2023, after the jury voted 10-2 in a three-hour deliberation to spare her life.[19][20]
Documentaries
editDue to the brutality and notoriety of the case and the fact that one of the perpetrators was a young woman later sentenced to death, the case has been the subject of several TV documentaries, including the third episode of the second season of Your Worst Nightmare, an hour-long interview of Tiffany Cole and Emilia Carr with Diane Sawyer for 20/20 in 2015, and an episode of Wicked Attraction, "Good Deeds Punished", in 2010.[citation needed]
This story is also recognized on Deadly Women's second episode of the fifth season, "Loathe Thy Neighbor", and the subject of a 2024 episode of the podcast Sword and Scale.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Mom Testifies Against Son In Murder Trial | News - Home". News4jax.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Battiste, Nikki; Weinraub, Claire; Scott, Tess; Effron, Lauren (February 24, 2015). "'We Call It Life Row': Two of the Youngest US Women on Death Row Describe Life Behind Bars". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ^ Kam, Dara; Saunders, Jim (November 26, 2020). "Supreme Court refuses to reinstate death sentences, including Jacksonvlle[sic] case". News Service of Florida. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Glenn (May 30, 2007). "Shockingly evil". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "Jury Finds Tiffany Cole Guilty In Double Murder | News - Home". News4jax.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ "Local News | Jacksonville, FL - St. Augustine, FL - Brunswick, GA". Firstcoastnews.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ a b Paul Pinkham. "Female murderer Cole receives death sentence". Jacksonville.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ WJXT. "Jury Finds Tiffany Cole Guilty In Double Murder - News - Home". News4Jax. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ^ "Tiffany Cole sentenced to death, becomes only woman in Florida on death row - Video Dailymotion". Dailymotion.com. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ "Spotlight: The Women on Florida's Death Row – Crime Library". Trutv.com. December 27, 2012. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ "Tina Brown: Panhandle woman sentenced to dealth [sic] penalty for teen's murder". Wptv.com. September 29, 2012. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ "Death sentence thrown out in murders of couple buried alive". June 29, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Hurst v. Florida". Oyez. Archived from the original on August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "SCOTUS' Unanimous Death-Penalty Jury Verdict Decision Affecting Florida Cases | Criminal Legal News". www.criminallegalnews.org. Archived from the original on August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "Florida Supreme Court Reaffirms Decision to Deny Relief for Unconstitutional Sentences Issued Prior to 2002". American Bar Association. December 1, 2017. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "Man convicted of murdering Jacksonville couple by burying them alive receives life sentence". June 16, 2022. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ "Michael J. Jackson resentenced to death following jury's 8-4 recommendation". August 14, 2023. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ "'I truly forgive you': Family addresses defendant in 'buried alive' case". August 23, 2023.
- ^ Schindler, Anne (August 23, 2023). "Jurors spare Tiffany Cole death penalty in 2005 'buried-alive' case in Jacksonville". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.