Florida executes a man for the shotgun killings of his girlfriend and
her 3 young children
[May 02, 2025]
By CURT ANDERSON
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — An Army combat veteran whose Gulf War experience
triggered severe mental problems was executed Thursday evening in
Florida for the 1998 shotgun slayings of his girlfriend and her three
young children.
Jeffrey Hutchinson, 62, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. following a
lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was the fourth
person executed this year in the state under death warrants signed by
Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a fifth execution set for May 15.
Hutchinson had no last statement but appeared to be mumbling to himself
as the procedure started just before 8 p.m. His legs shook sporadically,
and he seemed to have body spasms for several minutes and then was
still. The process took a little more than 15 minutes.
The execution was carried out soon after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected
a final appeal without comment.
Hutchinson had long claimed that he was innocent and that two unknown
assailants perpetrated the killings under a U.S. government conspiracy
aimed at silencing his activism on claims including Gulf War illnesses
involving veterans. Hutchinson served eight years in the Army, part of
it as an elite Ranger.
Court records, however, showed that on the night of the killings in
Crestview, Hutchinson argued with his girlfriend, 32-year-old Renee
Flaherty, then packed his clothes and guns into a truck. Hutchinson went
to a bar and drank some beer, telling staff there that Flaherty was
angry with him before leaving abruptly.
A short time later, a male caller told a 911 operator, “I just shot my
family” from the house Hutchinson and Flaherty shared with the three
children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda, and 4-year-old Logan.
All were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun that was found on a kitchen
counter. Hutchinson was located by police in the garage with a phone
still connected to the 911 center and gunshot residue on his hands.
Darran Johnson, the brother of Renee Flaherty, said after the execution
that justice was done but the family’s pain will never end.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t think about the loved ones that were
taken from us,” Johnson said.
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This image provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows
Jeffrey Hutchinson. (Florida Department of Corrections via AP, File)
At his 2001 trial, Hutchinson’s defense was based on his claim that
two unknown men came to the house and killed Flaherty and the
children after he struggled with them. A jury found him guilty of
four counts of first-degree murder, and he received life in prison
for Flaherty’s killing and three death sentences for the children.
Hutchinson filed numerous unsuccessful appeals, many focused on
mental health problems linked to his Army service. In late April his
lawyers sought to delay his execution by claiming he was insane and
therefore could not be put to death.
Bradford County Circuit Judge James Colaw rejected that argument in
an April 27 order.
“This Court finds that Mr. Hutchinson’s purported delusion is
demonstrably false. Jeffrey Hutchinson does not lack the mental
capacity to understand the reason for the pending execution,” the
judge wrote.
In their court filings, Hutchinson’s lawyers said he suffered from
Gulf War Illness — a series of health problems stemming from the
1990-1991 war in Iraq — as well as post-traumatic stress disorder
and paranoia related to his claim that he was targeted by government
surveillance.
Florida’s lethal injection protocol uses a sedative, a paralytic and
a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of
Corrections.
So far this year, 15 people have been put to death in the U.S.
including Hutchinson.
A fifth Florida execution is scheduled May 15 for Glen Rogers, who
was convicted of killing a woman at a motel in 1997. Rogers also was
convicted of another woman’s murder in California and is believed by
investigators to have killed others around the country.
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