On a tragic day in Halifax County, Virginia, 64-year-old Patsy Ayers Cole was killed in a brutal triple homicide that also claimed the lives of her husband, Thomas Wesley Cole, 64, and her brother-in-law, Walter Stanley Cole, 56. The horrific events of July 3, 2002, stemmed from a long-simmering dispute over a shared driveway with a neighbor and distant relative, James Bryant Hudson.
The conflict reached its deadly climax when Walter and Thomas Cole encountered Hudson's truck blocking
the driveway. Following a verbal altercation, Hudson retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun from his vehicle and fatally shot both brothers through the windshield of their truck. Not stopping there, Hudson then proceeded to the Cole's property where he found Patsy working in her garden. He shot and killed her before fleeing the scene.
A 23-hour manhunt for Hudson ensued, leading to his arrest the following day. Faced with the evidence against him, Hudson pleaded guilty to the capital murders of Walter and Thomas Cole and the first-degree murder of Patsy Ayers Cole. He offered no witnesses in his defense during his trial.
The court sentenced James Bryant Hudson to death for his crimes. Displaying no remorse, Hudson waived his right to appeal. On August 18, 2004, just over two years after the murders, he was executed by lethal injection.
