Man convicted of killing wife and 2 children set to be 9th person executed in Florida this year

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of the 1994 machete killings of his wife and two children was set to be put to death Thursday evening in what would be a record ninth execution in Florida this year and its highest single-year total since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976.

Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was scheduled to receive a three-drug lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke after his last appeal was rejected a day earlier by the nation’s highest court. Florida carried out eight executions in 2014, a one-year high matched by its latest execution in mid-July.

Zakrzewski awoke at 5:15 a.m. Thursday and had a meal that included fried pork chops, potatoes, root beer and ice cream, said state Department of Corrections spokesman Paul Walker, speaking at an afternoon news briefing.

“He remained compliant,” Walker said, adding Zakrzewski had one unidentified visitor.

Florida this year has carried out more executions than any other state, while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second with four apiece. A 11th on Aug. 28 under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Zakrzewski, an Air Force veteran, was sentenced to die for the June 9, 1994, killings of his 34-year-old wife Sylvia and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5, in the Florida Panhandle.

Trial testimony showed he committed the killings at their Okaloosa County home after his wife sought a divorce, and he had told others he would kill his family rather than allow that.

The woman was attacked first with a crowbar and strangled with a rope, court testimony showed. Both children were killed with the machete, and Sylvia was also struck with the blade when Zakrzewski thought she had survived the previous assault, according to court records.

Zakrzewski’s lawyers filed numerous appeals over the years, but all were rejected.

Twenty-six men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and 11 other people are set to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. Florida was also the last state to conduct an execution with Michael Bernard Bell’s lethal injection on July 15.

DeSantis signed a warrant for a 10th Florida execution Aug. 19 for Kayle Bates, who was convicted of abducting and killing a woman from an insurance office in 1982. On Wednesday night, DeSantis issued a death warrant for Curtis Windom, who was convicted of killing three people in the Orlando area in 1992. His execution is set for Aug. 28.

Florida uses a three-drug cocktail for its lethal injection: a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Opponents of Thursday’s execution plan pointed to Zakrzewski’s military service and the fact that a jury voted 7-5 to recommend his execution, barely a majority of the panel. They noted he could not have received the death penalty with a split jury vote under current state law.

A group opposed to the death penalty organized an anti-execution petition, urging people to call DeSantis’ office and read a prepared script appealing for a stay.