Jeffrey Hutchinson, a 59-year-old Gulf War Army veteran scheduled to be executed on May 1, has appealed to the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday seeking review of postconviction relief.
Hutchinson is slated to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
The case stems from the events of September 11, 1998, in Crestview, Florida. According to court records, Hutchinson had an argument with his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, and left to go to a bar. A bartender testified that Hutchinson discussed the argument, drank beer, and then left abruptly.
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Approximately 40 minutes later, a 911 call was placed from Hutchinson’s home. The caller, later identified as Hutchinson, reportedly stated, “I just shot my family.”
Police arrived to find Flaherty, 32, and her three children — Geoffrey, 9; Amanda, 7; and Logan, 4 — dead from shotgun wounds.
Hutchinson was found in the garage with a phone in his hand, still connected to the 911 operator. The murder weapon, a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, was found on a kitchen counter, and police reported gunshot residue on Hutchinson’s hands.
The Florida Supreme Court in 2022 rejected Hutchinson’s appeals, which claimed that new evidence had emerged that could exonerate him.
Following his sentencing, Hutchinson maintained his innocence in court, stating, “I did not kill Renee and the kids and I believe I was framed.”
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The judge’s sentencing order acknowledged Hutchinson’s military service, including his service in the Gulf War, and his diagnosis with Gulf War Illness.
This execution is set to follow three other executions that have already taken place in Florida this year:
- On March 20, 63-year-old Edward James was executed for the 1993 killings of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother.
- James Dennis Ford, 64, was put to death on Feb. 13 for the 1997 murders of a married couple.
- Michael Tanzi, 48, was executed on Tuesday night for the kidnapping and murder of a woman in the Florida Keys in 2000.
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