Walter Stanley Cole, a 56-year-old male, tragically lost his life on July 3, 2002, in a violent encounter stemming from a long-standing dispute with a neighbor in Halifax County, Virginia. The conflict, which had been simmering for years, centered around a shared driveway on Virgie Cole Road. On that fateful day, Walter and his brother, Thomas Wesley Cole, were in a truck on the driveway when they were confronted by their neighbor and distant relative, James Bryant Hudson, whose vehicle was blocking the path.
Following a brief verbal exchange, Hudson retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun from his truck and fired through the windshield of the Coles' vehicle, striking both brothers. After shooting Walter and Thomas, Hudson proceeded to a nearby garden where Thomas's wife, 64-year-old Patsy Ayers Cole, was working and shot her as well. Walter Stanley Cole and Thomas Wesley Cole were both killed by shotgun blasts to the head.
Following the triple homicide, James Bryant Hudson fled the scene, prompting a 23-hour manhunt that ended with his arrest the next day. Hudson was subsequently charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Walter and Thomas Cole, and one count of first-degree murder for the death of Patsy Cole. He pleaded guilty to the charges.
During his trial, Hudson refused to allow his lawyers to call any witnesses in his defense. He was sentenced to death for the murders. Showing no desire to contest his fate, Hudson waived his right to appeal his death sentence and did not seek clemency from the governor. On August 18, 2004, just over two years after the murders, James Bryant Hudson was executed by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center.
