Serial killer dies with priest praying at his ft after gut-busting final meal
A ruthless serial killer helped Florida achieve a blockbuster year for executions on Thursday, succumbing to a three-drug cocktail while a priest prayed at his feet
A ruthless killer who slaughtered five people in a crazed spree became Florida’s 19th death row inmate to be executed this year, a fresh high since the state reversed its ban on the death penalty.
Frank Athen Walls, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:11 pm after being injected with a three-drug cocktail while strapped to a gurney as a Catholic priest prayed by his feet, reports the New York Post.
In his last words, the killer regretted the pain he caused his victims’ families. “I appreciate the opportunity to say what’s on my heart,” he said. “If any of the members of the family are here, I am sorry for all the things I did, the pain I caused, and all that you have suffered all these years.”
Walls breathed heavily for several minutes after receiving the lethal dose at 6pm in the death chamber of Florida State Prison. The injection combines a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug, causing him to lose consciousness before being pronounced dead.
He ordered chicken, steak, vegetables, a baked potato, cheesecake, and juice as his hearty last meal, USA Today reported.
Walls was linked to five horrific murders. He earned his death sentence for slaughtering Eglin Air Force Base airman Edward Alger, 22, and his girlfriend Ann Peterson, 20, in July 1987.
The murderer burst into the couple’s Fort Walton Beach mobile home as they slept and tied them up. He later slit Alger’s throat as he fought for his life. He then shot him and Peterson in the head before swiping their cash, court records show.
Walls was taken into custody the day after the couple’s naked bodies were found. His roommate tipped police off to his strange and suspicious behaviour, ultimately ending his murder spree.
The twisted killer confessed to the vicious slayings and after his conviction, DNA evidence also tied him to the May 1987 rape and fatal stabbing of Audrey Gygi, 47, a mother of four. He pleaded no contest, sparing him another trial.
He also admitted to butchering Tommie Lou Whiddon, 19, in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra, 24, in September 1986. Whiddon reportedly had her throat slit and Condra was stabbed 21 times.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Walls’ death warrant in November. His execution is the Sunshine State’s 19th this year, the most since the state reversed its ban on the death penalty in the 1970s.
Florida is exceptionally keen on capital punishment, letting even divided juries sentence killers to death. The state has now executed 125 murderers since 1976, all at Florida State Prison, but another 251 offenders await execution.
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