ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jeffrey Hutchinson, a Gulf War Army veteran found guilty of the fatal shootings of his girlfriend and her three children, is slated for execution in Florida. This marks the fourth death warrant issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year, with Hutchinson set to be put to death by lethal injection on May 1 at Florida State Prison near Starke. Governor DeSantis signed the death warrant on Monday evening.
The tragic incident occurred on the night of September 11, 1998, in Crestview, Florida. Following an argument with his girlfriend Renee Flaherty, Hutchinson left for a bar. Witnesses stated that Hutchinson mentioned the argument, had some drinks, and then abruptly departed. Approximately 40 minutes later, a 911 call was made from Hutchinson’s residence, with him confessing, “I just shot my family.” Upon arrival, authorities discovered Flaherty, 32, and her children Geoffrey, 9; Amanda, 7; and Logan, 4, deceased from gunshot wounds inflicted by a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. Hutchinson was found in the garage with the phone still in hand, connected to the 911 operator, and had gunshot residue on his hands.
Despite Hutchinson’s claims of innocence and appeals based on purported new evidence, the Florida Supreme Court denied his appeals in 2022. Hutchinson, who served in the Army during the Gulf War and was diagnosed with Gulf War Illness, asserted in court that he had been framed.
This year has already seen two executions in Florida, with a third scheduled for the upcoming week. Edward James, 63, was executed on March 20 for the 1993 murders of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother, while James Dennis Ford, 64, was put to death on February 13 for the 1997 killings of a married couple. Michael Tanzi, 48, is set to be executed on April 8 for the abduction and murder of a woman in the Florida Keys in 2000.
