A jury convicted a woman of robbing, kidnapping and murdering a retired Florida couple who she helped bury alive in rural Georgia.
Tiffany Cole, 25, was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. The bodies of Reggie and Carol Sumner, both 61, were found buried in a shallow grave in Georgia near the Florida state line in July 2005.
Cole met the Sumners in Ladson, S.C., where her stepfather was their neighbor. The Sumners had recently moved to Jacksonville.
"I could hear Reggie's blood cry out when the verdicts were announced, the Rev. Jean Clark, Reggie Sumner's sister, told The Florida Times-Union. "Justice is served."
Cole testified that she did not know of plans to kidnap and kill the couple. She said she thought her co-defendants were just going to rob them.
Circuit Judge Michael R. Weatherby said the same jury will recommend life in prison or the death penalty at sentencing in November.
Cole's boyfriend, Michael Jackson, also was charged with the crime. He was found guilty and has been sentenced to death.
Alan Lyndell Wade and Bruce Kent Nixon, both 19, also are charged with killing the Sumners. Nixon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery and kidnapping after leading police to the bodies. By agreeing to testify against the rest, he avoided the death penalty and faces 52 years to life in prison.
Wade is scheduled for trial next week.
A telephone call to Cole's court-appointed defense attorney, Quentin Till, after hours Friday was not immediately returned.
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