Tiffany Cole

Criminal Profile

Brooke Sanfilippo

Background Good family relationships Did well in school, never go into trouble with the

law Came from a law abiding family Long-time neighbors with victim Family friends with victims Kept in touch with victim when they moved to

Florida Visited victims often Had a boyfriend named Michael James Jackson Later became friends with Alan Lyndell Wade and

Bruce Kent Nixon who were both drug addicts

Crime Committed Convicted of 2 first degree murders, 2 counts of robbery

and 2 counts of kidnapping on James and Carol Sumner Cole and three men, Jackson, Nixon, and Wade, drove to the

Sumners’ home and asked to use their telephone. While using the telephone they choked and gagged the Sumners with duct tape. They were then put in the trunk of Cole’s car and taken over the state line to Georgia. They also robbed the home. In Georgia, a grave was already dug by the group for the victims. They then buried the Sumners alive.

Evidence: shovels at the grave site, victims’ belongings in the trunk of the car, purchasing records of duct tape the day of the crime

Sentence: sentenced to death Quote about the criminal: “I’m glad this monster has to pay

with her life for this horrendous crime.”Had no nickname

First degree murder: murder that is willful and premeditatedRobbery: the felonious taking of another’s propertyKidnapping: the taking of a person against their will

Differential-Association Theory

The Sociological Theory of Deviance that best explains Tiffany Cole’s deviant behavior is the Differential Association Theory. This theory can best be defined as how a person’s behavior is influenced by how the company that they keep’s behavior. If the people that a person is constantly with acts deviant, it is very likely that this person will develop deviant behaviors. Criminal behavior is learned by interaction with others. In this case, Cole’s interaction with the drug addicts and thieves caused her to act out deviously. Her values easily changed to the criminal friends’ values very quickly. It was even faster than normal because one of the deviants influencing her was her boyfriend. He was very influential over Cole because they were constantly together. Due to this, Cole’s thoughts began to change from innocent to deviant. Her friends were also deviant so this multiplied the bad influences on a once innocent woman. Tiffany Cole was once a law abiding citizen, but now she is no longer that. She is now a murderer due to those she was newly associated with.

Cultural References Wicked Attraction: Good Deeds Punished Snapped: Killer Couples