Florida executed Edward Zakrzewski, 60, for the brutal 1994 machete murders of his wife, Sylvia, 34, and their two children, Edward, 7, and Anna, 5, in their Mary Esther home.
The execution by lethal injection at Florida State Prison marked the state’s ninth execution this year, setting a modern-era record.
Zakrzewski, a former Air Force sergeant, killed his family after Sylvia sought a divorce. He pleaded guilty in 1996 and was sentenced to death. After the murders, he fled to Hawaii, living under an alias until his case aired on “Unsolved Mysteries,” leading to his surrender.
Before his execution, Zakrzewski’s last meal included fried pork chops, fried onions, potatoes, bacon, toast, root beer, ice cream, pie, and coffee. His final words thanked Florida for a “clean, humane, and efficient” execution, followed by a partial quote from Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
Despite appeals citing his military service and a non-unanimous jury vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a stay on July 30. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant, continuing Florida’s active use of capital punishment.
