'A good, kind soul': Friends remember murdered Florida fraternity brother as execution nears

In early 1994, college students John Edwards and his big sister met for what was supposed to be a fun weekend camping trip at Ocala National Forest in north central Florida. It turned into a nightmare.

Edwards, who was just 18 years old, and his 21-year-old sister became the victims of a surprise attack on their trip to the Marion County recreation area. Edwards was brutally murdered while his sister escaped with her life but not unscathed.

Two men, Loran Kenstley Cole and William Paul, were later arrested, charged and convicted of murder, kidnapping and robbery in the brutal attacks. Cole was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Edwards' sister and sentenced to death, while Paul got life in prison.

Cole, now 57, is set to be put to death by lethal injection in Florida on Thursday, a chapter his friends say they look forward to putting behind them.

USA TODAY is looking back at Edwards' life and death, and his sister's brave escape as the execution fast approaches to remember who they were and what their loved ones lost.

An attempted visit to a pond and a surprise attack

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

After talking around a campfire, the strangers offered to take the siblings to see a pond. About 10:45 p.m. court records show, the four set off to visit a pond to take photos of alligators.

They never made it.

Before reaching the pond, Cole jumped Edwards’ sister and handcuffed her. Edwards attacked Paul after that and then Cole helped Paul subdue the brother and threw him on the ground next to his sister, court records say.

Paul took the woman further up the path and Cole stayed behind with John Edwards, who died from a slashed throat and multiple skull fractures.

Cole, Paul and Pam Edwards returned to the campsite, where Cole threatened to kill her if she did not have sex with him. The next day, he raped her again and then gagged her and tied her between two trees with a rope, court records say.

Cole and Paul then left the campsite in one of their cars. Edwards' sister, who freed herself by chewing through the rope, looked for her brother but was unable to find him.

A driver found her and called 911. Her brother's body was found by law enforcement later that day.

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'A good, kind soul'

John Edwards was a freshman at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

At the same time, his sister attended Eckerd College, a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida about 260 miles south of her brother's school. She was a key witness in the state's trial against Cole.

Born in July 1975, Edwards attended high school in Japan, where his parents were teachers for the military.

Admitted to FSU's Honors Program, Edwards studied chemical engineering as a freshman, his frat brother, Chris Spires, told USA TODAY. Edwards was the youngest fraternity member of Phi Gamma Delta, many who bonded for life after his slaying.

"He was a good, kind soul, had nothing bad to say about anyone. He was a smart, skinny guy who loved baseball and basketball," Spires, now 49, recalled. "He used to run around the house pretending to dunk on Bob Sura, who was FSU's star (basketball) player in 1993."

"John was always a positive, friendly, charismatic, down-to-earth person," Barrett Atwood, another FSU and Phi Gamma Delta alum, told the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Spires said he and his pledge brothers learned about their friend's slaying watching the 6 o'clock news.

"We were in shock," Spires recalled. "We had just had come home from President's Day break, which is why they were camping. We were all losing our minds ... We talked about going to find the men and kill them, but our frat president calmed us down. We found out two days later they caught William and Paul, and later found out what happened to his sister."

'We haven't forgotten about him'

Spires, a wealth advisor who now lives in Atlanta, said he and some of his fraternity brothers have followed the case for years.

"We kept in touch around the five, 10, 15, 20th anniversary of his death," he said, until after Cole's conviction when the case slowly started to dissipate from the limelight.

Then came July 29, when Spires learned Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Cole's death warrant.

"I was knew one day it would happen. I planned to go down there and hold a vigil for John to make people remember someone actually died, but when I saw the article, I teared up," he said. "What was taken was an 18-year-old who had promise. He would probably be married with kids coaching his kids' baseball teams."

Cole, who has maintained his co-defendant is responsible for Edwards’ killing, has filed more than a dozen appeals over the years.

On Friday, The Florida Supreme Court unanimously rejected halting Cole's attorneys filed a motion arguing that 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.”

Cole also contended that his life should be spared because of "horrific abuse" he suffered at a shuttered notorious, state-run reform school.

Spires said he recently reached out to Edwards' mother, who lives in Florida.

"I told her I wanted her to know we haven't forgotten about him even though 25 years have gone by," Spires said.

He said Edwards' mother thanked him, and said "the family still keeps John close."

"The brothers I who keep in regular contact with and I are looking forward to this chapter being closed," Spires said.

USA TODAY reached out to Edwards' mother and sister. It was not immediately known if they plan to attend the execution.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.