Stark, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of murdering his wife and two children in 1994 died Thursday, making him the ninth person to be executed in Florida this year, setting a state record for a year total since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty decades ago.
Edward Zaklkzewski was declared dead at 6:12pm after a fatal injection at a Florida prison near Stark, officials said. After the death penalty was restored in 1976, Florida carried out a one-year, eight-year execution in 2014.
Zakrzewski lay on a gurney, covered with a white sheet when the curtains in the death chamber rose around 6pm
“I would like to thank the good people in Sunshine State for killing me in the coldest, calculated, clean, humane and efficient way. I have no complaints,” Zakrzewski said in a final statement, quoting from the poem before the drugs flowed.
Fourteen witnesses were present, plus media reporters and prison staff.
Florida has executed more executions this year than any other state, but Texas and South Carolina are tied second in four of them. The 10th execution is scheduled for Florida on August 19th, and the 11th execution on August 28th is scheduled under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron Desantis.
Zaklcewski, 60, was sentenced to murder his 34-year-old wife Sylvia, and seven-year-old Edward (7), and five-year-old Anna’s children, Edward and Anna, on June 9, 1994, in the Florida Panhandle.
Testimony at the trial showed that he committed the murder at an Okaloosa County home after his wife asked for divorce, and told others he would kill his family rather than let it go.
The woman was first attacked with a clover and strangled with a rope, court testimony showed. According to court records, both children were killed with machetes and Silvia was also hit by the blade when she thought Zakrzewski had survived the previous attack.
Zakrzewski’s lawyers have filed numerous appeals over the years, but all have been denied, including the final request for enforcement rejected by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Earlier on Thursday, Zakrzewski woke up at 5:15am and later dined with pork chops, root beer and ice cream, said Paul Walker, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections. He said Zakrzewski had one visitor and “stayed compliant” while awaiting execution.
Until Thursday’s execution, 26 men died in court-ordered executions in the United States so far this year, but 11 people were expected to die in seven states for the remainder of 2025.
Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack, Pinellas medical inspector said
Desantis signed a warrant for the August 19 execution of Kayle Bates, who was found guilty of acquiring and murdering a woman from her insurance office in 1982. Desantis also issued a death warrant for Curtis Windom, who was convicted of killing three people in the Orlando area in 1992.
Florida uses a three-drug cocktail for a lethal injection. It is a sedative, paralytic and heart-stopping drug, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Opponents of Thursday’s execution plan pointed to the fact that Zakrzewski’s military service as an Air Force veteran, and that the ju judge voted 7-5 votes to recommend his execution. They pointed out that he was unable to receive the death penalty on a split ju court vote under current state law.
