Victims’ family still seeks justice

Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing fights for justice on a daily basis at the Franklin County Courthouse, but on Jan. 24, Rushing headed south to fight for justice in Montgomery.

Taking a stand for victims when the defendant in their case comes up for a parole is a duty Rushing has performed many times during the past six years.

Rushing said he has written countless letters during his time in office lobbying for convicted felons to remain behind bars, but he’s never actually gone to a parole hearing in person until he attended last Monday’s hearing for convicted murderer Wayne Cole.

Cole was charged, tried and convicted in 1975 for the double murder of his mother-in-law, 39-year-old Fayrine Wilson, and his wife, 20-year-old Merita Cole – a crime he committed in August of 1974 here in Franklin County.

“This was a senseless, brutal crime that took the lives of two women who were wives, mothers, sisters and daughters, and it left many people devastated,” Rushing said.

“Back in 1975 when the case was tried, there was no such thing as capital murder, the death penalty or life without parole, so when Cole was given two life sentences, that was the most punishment he could receive.

“But if Wayne Cole had committed a double murder under today’s law, he would have been charged with capital murder and would have received either life without parole or the death penalty, and I feel very strongly that he should remain in prison for the rest of his life.”

Rushing said he spent many hours talking to the husband and father of the victims, 80-year-old James Willard Wilson, and knew from these conversations that it had only been two years since Cole’s last parole hearing had taken place.

“The shortened time period between Cole’s parole hearings was another reason I wanted to be present at the hearing that day,” Rushing said. “We were afraid they might be getting ready to release him and we wanted to make a strong statement that he shouldn’t be released.”

Wilson, his youngest daughter, Dianna Benford, his son, Hudean, and his daughter-in-law, Janice, also brought along a petition signed by over 500 people protesting Cole’s release.

“I wanted the parole board to understand that it’s been 36 years since this all happened, but me and my family still have to deal with the effects of that loss,” Wilson said. “We’ve been coming down to these parole hearings every three to five years since the late 1980s, and every time we come we have to relive it all over again.”

“We never stop being victims,” Benford added. “Even my children who weren’t even born when this happened have felt the effects of what Wayne Cole did.

“The parole board needed to know this wasn’t a sudden act of violence – a crime of passion. [Cole] had been violent towards our whole family and it was just part of his nature.”

According to reports, the bitter domestic situation between Cole and Merita had led to the couple’s separation in the summer of 1974 when they also entered into a fierce custody battle for their infant son, Christopher.

Merita took Christopher and moved out of the residence she shared with Cole and moved in with her parents, Fayrine and James Willard Wilson.

On Aug. 28, 1974, Fayrine’s mother was visiting with Fayrine, Merita and little Christopher at Fayrine’s home in the Blue Springs community.

Cole had been passing by the Wilsons’ home earlier that day and had been honking his horn. According to Wilson, Merita was scared.

“I was working that day and Merita called me and said, ‘Daddy, come home. Wayne’s running up and down the road and I’m scared he’s going to try to do something,’” Wilson said. “I told her that I’d put my tools up and come right home.

“I started packing up my tools and a little while later Merita called me back and said I didn’t have to come. She said Wayne had called her and said he’d meet her the next day in Russellville and would sign the divorce papers and would give her custody of Christopher.”

After he thought his wife and daughter were safe, Wilson said he began to finish up his work and was finally able to make it home 45 minutes after Merita’s last call.

“When I got home, it seemed like there were a hundred cars parked at my house,” Wilson said. “I knew something terrible had happened.”

Wilson soon discovered that Cole had come back to the Wilsons’ home, kicked in the storm door, and had shot Fayrine in the chest and arm and Merita in the head, chest and arm with a .38 pistol.

Cole spared Fayrine’s mother who was hiding in a bedroom with Christopher.

The grief-stricken woman told officials at Cole’s preliminary hearing that when he entered the bedroom, Cole told her not to “sound the alarm” or he would kill her, too. He then took Christopher and left.

After she was sure Cole had gone, Fayrine’s mother went into the kitchen where she found the bodies of her daughter and granddaughter and ran to the porch to scream for help.

Neighbors came to her aid when they heard her screams. Neighbor J. T. Stanford notified the authorities and a swarm of people converged on the grisly scene.

Benford, who was a few days shy of 11 years old when her mother and sister were gunned down, said she remembered seeing Merita bruised and broken more times than she could count.

“She would leave him, but she would always end up going back to him because he would threaten to kill her and the rest of our family if she didn’t.

“I think Merita knew he was serious, so she would go back and endure the abuse some more. I was young then, but I remember being scared of [Cole] because of what he did to my sister.”

Benford said the loss of her mother and sister in such a violent way never ceases to hurt, but she said she has always tried to stay positive and hope that their story would help someone else one day.

“Wayne told her he would kill her if she left him, and he made good on that threat,” Benford said. “People need to take threats like these seriously and seek help from any of the organizations out there that are willing to save people from these types of abusive relationships.”

Wilson also tried to channel the experience in a positive way by becoming one of the original board members of the victim support group Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL) when it first got started in the early 1980s.

“I was the president of the Northwest Alabama chapter of VOCAL and helped get the chapter up and running here in the area,” Wilson said. “That group has helped so many victims over the years and I’m glad to know we were able to be a part of that.”

“Being a part of VOCAL has allowed my family to help other people who have been put in the same situation,” Benford added. “If nothing else, victims know they can cry on our shoulder and tell us their story and we will really and truly be able to say, ‘I understand.’ That’s important to someone going through a tough time.”

Last Monday, Wilson and his family’s strong stance and the powerful speech given by Rushing prompted the parole board to deny Cole’s parole and extended the date he would again be eligible for parole for five more years, the most it could have been extended.

“We’re lucky to have someone like Joey looking out for us and being willing to help us,” Wilson said. “I feel like the parole board took us more seriously because he was there.”

“Receiving five years before Cole comes up for parole again is the most justice we could have received, and I’m just grateful to Joey for all his support,” Benford added.

“I am a Christian and I believe forgiveness is available to those who are willing to ask God for it, but I also believe that there are consequences for your actions here on this earth.

“We’ll continue to fight this fight and make sure Cole stays where he needs to stay – in prison.”