'He wasn't forgotten': Friends of John Edwards reflect on Loran Cole's impending execution
EDITOR'S NOTE:This is a two-part series on the impact a savage murder and capital punishment has on those left behind. Reporter Elena Barrera spent weeks talking to loved ones and sifting through the Democrat's archives and court records for this special report.Read the other part of the story here.
After a long weekend away, the Phi Gamma Delta members at Florida State University were eager to reconnect. It was the 1990s, and without social media and cellphones, the fraternity brothers had a lot of catching up to do.
Then the house phone rang. Everyone fell silent.
Something had happened to the youngest brother, John Edwards. Meanwhile, one of the senior brothers rushed into the house and turned on the 6 o'clock news.
On the screen was a body bag in the woods.
"Everybody just lost it," said Chris Spires, an FSU and Phi Gamma Delta alum.
On Feb. 18, 1994, John was brutally murdered by Loran Cole and another man during a weekend camping trip with his sister in the Ocala National Forest.
Thirty years later, a bookend to the Edwards family's nightmare is in sight with Cole's execution set for 6 p.m. Aug. 29 — the first case of capital punishment since last August.
The impending execution resurfaced painful memories for John's loved ones who had spent all this time trying to find peace. Yet, it also left them grappling with a haunting question: Is taking Cole's life enough to bring justice?
John Edwards: A life that could have been
John had his whole life ahead of him.
Taken from his friends and family at 18, Spires said the chemical engineering freshman missed out on countless major life moments.
"We missed his wedding, he missed out on our weddings, watching his kids grow up, his career progress," Spires said. "I bet you right now he'd be coaching his kids in baseball."
The 14-person pledge class was very close but fostered an even stronger bond after John's murder. Most of them still regularly keep in touch, especially on anniversaries of John's death.
"He wasn't forgotten," Spires said.
John was always a positive, friendly, charismatic, down-to-earth person, said Barrett Atwood, another FSU and Phi Gamma Delta alum.
He was "the kind of guy you'd want your sister to date," Spires added.
According to court records, his life came to an end when Cole, with the help of another man, William Paul, attacked and tied up John and his sister after the two men had invited them on a hike.
John's body was found in the woods with his throat slashed and a fractured skull. His sister had been raped and tied to a tree before she gnawed through the ropes and escaped.
The news was gut-wrenching.
"Guys were crying, which then turned to rage ... some guys wanted to hop in their cars and drive down to Ocala on a manhunt to personally find and kill the guys who did this," Spires said.
Atwood said he didn't process the incident for years. But one by one, everyone started to pick up the pieces and do the one thing they wished John could do — live.
Atwood became an attorney; Spires started a wealth management practice. Another became an ordained minister. Still another became a Marine.
The tragedy "just taught me a lot about life," Atwood said. "And I'm sorry John had to lose his life to do that."
John Edwards' final words: 'I'm sorry'
The Edwards family declined to be interviewed about the upcoming execution, but a Tallahassee Democrat article from Oct. 1, 1995, detailed their reactions following the jury's unanimous recommendation for pursuing the death penalty.
"It's not about satisfaction, it's about fairness," John's mother, Vickie Edwards, said at the time. "It will be closing a sad chapter in all our lives."
At the time, Cole would have died in the electric chair.
The sister, who testified during the trial, said the right punishment was one that prevented him from hurting anyone again.
"If it takes death, then that's appropriate," she added.
During her tearful trial testimony, she recalled her brother's last words, according to a Sept. 25, 1995, article.
"He said 'I'm sorry'. . . because I hadn't even wanted to go on the hike," she told jurors.
Finally justice?
Each pivotal moment of the case — Cole's and then Paul's arrest, conviction and sentence — was one step closer to justice in the eyes of John's friends.
Cole and Paul were convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon. Cole also was found guilty as charged with two counts of sexual battery. Paul was sentenced to life in prison and Cole was sentenced to death.
And after 30 years, they finally get to see the the jury's decision realized.
"I think that it will be some closure that a lot of us have been waiting for for a very long time," Spires said.
John was robbed of having a long, full life, so the death penalty was simply a natural outcome, Spires said.
He would check the Florida Department of Corrections' records every few years to see if there were any updates in Cole's case. When he read a Tallahassee Democrat article July 29 reporting how Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant, he said he was flooded with emotions.
"I found myself tearing up a bit," he said.
Atwood said he "made the mistake" of following the case long after he left Florida. He'd periodically read newly filed court opinions and learned more of the gruesome details than he ever cared to.
For Atwood, Cole's execution brings a swirl of mixed feelings. Capital punishment in this case is "well deserved" and will bring relief to a lot of people, he said, but he isn't sure he'll ever find closure.
"In theory, I think the death penalty is great, you know like the whole biblical thing 'eye for an eye,' " he said. "But the problem is we're just humans, and we're fallible, and the criminal justice system makes mistakes all the time."
"It doesn't replace a friend," Atwood added. "It doesn't take away that pain."
Whether they're for or against Cole's execution, John's loved ones all agree it's mind-boggling that this has consumed three decades of their lives. And though this may end a long, painful chapter, a part of them will always be stuck in 1994.
Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida execution of Loran Cole stirs emotions for victim's friends
