Jordan Allen is a killer from Tennessee who was convicted of the murders of his Grandmother and brother
According to court documents Jordan Allen, who was sixteen years of age, would beat to death his Grandmother and brother, 7-year-old Jessie Allen and 59-year-old Sherry Cole, with a hammer in Greeneville Tennessee. Following the brutal murders Jordan would head to a store where he would by headphones and pizza
Jordan Allen would make a confession to police following the double murder which he tried to take back at trial
Jordan Allen would be convicted of the double murder. Jordan would be sentenced to life without parole
Jordan Allen Case
A jury has found Jordan Allen guilty of the first-degree murders of his 7-year-old brother and grandmother.
Allen was accused of killing his brother, Jessie Allen, and his grandmother, Sherry Cole, in April 2022 at their home on Old Snapps Ferry Road. Allen was 16 at the time of the murders.
llen’s trial began on Monday, and the jury began deliberating shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday.
The jury found Allen guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
Throughout the trial, Allen and his defense pointed to his grandfather, Bill Cole, and claimed he had been the one to actually kill the victims. During his own testimony, Allen denied killing his brother and grandmother, saying instead he had seen Bill Cole commit the murders.
“I know we got a guilty verdict, but there are just no winners here,” prosecutor Ritchie Collins said after the verdicts were read. “Everybody loses. You heard Bill Cole dragged through the mud. He was accused of something he didn’t do. He’s lost a wife of 44 years and two grandkids. He’s lost his entire life, his whole family. There are no winners. I wish I had something better to say, but there are no winners.”
During his closing arguments, Collins encouraged the jury to see that justice was done to the best of their abilities. However, he noted that while the verdict might have gone the way he wanted it to, there is no repairing what was done to Jessie Allen and Sherry Cole.
“There is no justice for Jessie or Sherry, cause they’re not coming back,” Collins said. “There’s really no justice for Bill; he’s lost his entire family. Justice for Jordan, he was 16 years old when this happened; he was a kid. Doesn’t really mitigate what he did, but it’s just a sad situation.”
District Public Defender Todd Estep, who defended Allen, provided News Channel 11 with a statement, saying that he respected the jury’s verdict.
“The first thing I want to do is offer my condolences and prayers to the family,” Estep said. “I would encourage our community to lift all involved up in prayer. I would like to thank the jurors for their attention and diligence in a very difficult case. They delivered their verdict and I respect their verdict. As for Jordan’s case, there are still other hearings that are required by law beyond today’s verdicts, and I feel it inappropriate to comment about those at this time.”
Sentencing
The sentencing phase of the trial began at 1:30 p.m., and the jurors left to begin deliberating on the sentence shortly after 4 p.m.
The state has filed to seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, requiring a second trial to take place after the verdict. During the sentencing trial, the prosecution attempted to convince the jury to sentence Allen in that manner, while his defense tried to dissuade them from the enhanced punishment and offer him a chance at parole in the future.
Some of the witnesses called during the sentencing trial included family members of Allen, a former teacher of his, and an assistant administrator with the Greene County Detention Center.
According to the administrator, Allen has taken advantage of opportunities while incarcerated, including earning his high school diploma. His former teacher told the court that he had never had any major issues with Allen when he was his student.
The prosecution called no witnesses during the sentencing trial; however, Rick Williams, the brother of Sherry Cole and a deputy with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, read a victim impact statement to the jury.
Jordan Allen sentenced to life without parole | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather
Jordan Allen News
A Greene County jury found Jordan Allen guilty of first-degree murder in the 2022 killings of his brother and grandmother. He’ll serve life in prison without the possibility of parole on the grounds that the murder was especially heinous.
Jordan Allen was 16 years old when prosecutors said he killed 7-year-old Jessie Allen and 59-year-old Sherry Cole with a hammer in April 2022.
“The first thing I want to do is offer my condolences and prayers to the family.” Allen’s Public Defender, Todd Estep, said in a statement. “I would encourage our community to lift all involved up in prayer. I would like to thank the jurors for their attention and diligence in a very difficult case. They delivered their verdict and I respect their verdict. As for Jordan’s case, there are still other hearings that are required by law beyond today’s verdicts, and I feel it is inappropriate to comment about those at this time.”
A Greene County juvenile court judge decided in November 2022 that Allen would be tried as an adult.
In the week-long trial, prosecutors leaned on Allen’s confession and testimony from another jail inmate who said Allen admitted to the killings and showed no remorse.
Jurors also heard from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents who described finding a hammer hidden under bed sheets in Allen’s room, blood evidence throughout the home and clothing with apparent blood stains.
The defense argued Allen falsely confessed after hours of questioning and pressure from investigators. A cognitive psychologist took the stand and told jurors it is possible there was a false confession in this case.
Jordan Allen said his grandfather, Bill Cole, was responsible for the deaths. A TBI agent testified Allen was originally brought in as a witness because the preliminary call the agent received suggested Cole had killed both victims, making him the primary suspect.
Jurors also heard an initial 911 call that blamed both Allen and Cole.
“I’ve learned not to be scared of the truth,” Allen said. “Bill Cole did it. I was scared of Bill Cole. I thought he was going to kill me, too.”
Cole denied it.
“I didn’t do it. Why would I?” Cole said. “I had nothing to gain, and I still don’t have anything to gain. I sit in that little old house, a lonely old man. I lost my whole family. No, I didn’t do that.”
Prosecutors pushed back on Allen’s credibility during cross-examination, questioning why he went out to buy pizza and headphones after the killings and why he never told anyone what he claimed to have seen.
The trial also included emotional testimony from Greene County Deputy Rick Williams, who is related to both the victims and Allen.
