Mark Allen Geralds was executed for the murder of Tressa Pettibone in her home, in what was described as ‘one of the most cruel cases ever’ as he subjected her to a terrifying 20-minute onslaught
A 58-year-old man was executed at Florida State Prison on Tuesday for a horrific murder committed in 1989. Mark Allen Geralds was convicted of what prosecutors described as “one of the most cruel cases ever” after he murdered mum-of-two Tressa Pettibone in her own home, subjecting her to a terrifying 20-minute attack.
Geralds was declared dead at 6:15pm on Tuesday, following the administration of a three-drug lethal injection. His execution was the 18th in Florida this year, extending a new state record for the highest number of executions in a single year.
Geralds was found guilty of the brutal stabbing and beating of married housewife Ms Pettibone in her own home on February 1, 1989. Court documents reveal that Ms Pettibone’s eight-year-old son discovered his mother’s fatally stabbed body on the kitchen floor of their Panama City residence upon returning from school, reports the Mirror US.
Geralds, who was employed as a carpenter, had previously carried out renovation work on parts of Pettibone’s home nearly a year prior to her murder.
Approximately a week before the murder, Geralds encountered Ms Pettibone and her two children at a shopping centre, where Pettibone mentioned that her husband was away on business.
Geralds later approached Pettibone’s son at a video arcade and asked a series of questions regarding when the boy’s father would return home, as well as details about the daily commute and school timings for him and his sister, according to court records obtained by the Associated Press.
After Ms Pettibone was discovered dead, detectives found that Geralds had pawned jewellery bearing traces of her blood on the afternoon of the assault. Furthermore, plastic restraints used to tie up Pettibone were found to be identical to those discovered in Geralds’ vehicle, court documents revealed.
At the time, prosecutor Jim Appleman described the killing as “one of the most cruel cases ever” seen in the area. “The cruel beating he put on Tressa Pettibone is outrageous,” Appleman told the jury, according to archived Associated Press coverage.
The prosecution informed jurors that Geralds had entered the property searching for £7,000 in cash he knew was there, and assaulted Ms Pettibone demanding to know where it was hidden.
“For 20 minutes, Tressa Pettibone suffered an agonizing beating and torture,” they said. “She bled to death in her own home. A woman who was a caring person… And in her own home, she took the last gasps of breath that she could and sucked blood into her lungs.”
Geralds was subsequently found guilty of murder, armed robbery, and additional charges, receiving a death sentence in 1990. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the penalty whilst upholding the conviction, leading to Geralds being sentenced to death again in 1992.
Following the signing of a death warrant last month and the scheduling of his execution date, Geralds informed a judge he had no intention of challenging the execution. The judge approved this decision.
The Associated Press reported that Geralds woke up at 5:45am on Tuesday, December 9. He received no visitors throughout the day, and declined a final meal, as stated by Jordan Kirkland, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Corrections. Geralds did not consult with any spiritual adviser before his death
This year in the US, 44 men have been executed by court order, with a handful more scheduled for the remainder of the year, including one set to take place in Tennessee this week.
Since the reinstatement of the death penalty by the US Supreme Court in 1976, the highest annual total of executions in Florida was eight in 2014. That is until this year, during which Florida has carried out more executions than any other state. Another execution is scheduled for next week under death warrants authorised by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
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