A Tennessee jury took less than two hours to convict 20-year-old Jordan Allen of two counts of first-degree murder — and the details of what he did after the killings are just as chilling as the crime itself.
Back in April 2022, a 16-year-old Allen used a hammer to brutally kill two people in his own home: his 7-year-old little brother, Jessie Allen, and his 59-year-old grandmother, Sherry Cole. The family lived on Old Snapps Ferry Road in Greeneville, Tennessee — a quiet small town about 30 miles from Johnson City.
What happened next left the courtroom stunned.
After the killings, Allen didn’t call for help. He didn’t panic. Instead, he walked out of the house, went to a friend’s place, grabbed a pizza from Little Caesars, and then strolled into a Walmart — where he calmly purchased a pair of headphones.
When prosecutors asked him in court if that was his “great escape plan,” Allen simply said: “No.”
Throughout the trial, Allen pointed the finger at his grandfather, Bill Cole — accusing him of being the real killer. But under cross-examination, Allen admitted he had never once seen Bill Cole harm anyone. Not his grandmother. Not his little brother. Not even him.
The jury didn’t buy it.
The medical examiner’s testimony was devastating. Little Jessie’s skull had been caved in on one side. When asked which blow killed the boy, the examiner quietly said: “They’re all fatal.”
After the guilty verdict, Assistant DA Ritchie Collins spoke with raw emotion.
“There are no winners here,” he said. “Bill Cole lost a wife of 44 years and two grandkids. He’s lost his entire life.”
Prosecutors are now requesting life without the possibility of parole. A final decision rests with the jury during sentencing.
Jordan Allen was 16 at the time of the murders. He is now 20 and faces the rest of his life behind bars.
