Edward Zakrzewski, a Florida Death Row inmate convicted of murdering his wife and two children more than 20 years ago, was executed yesterday. The 60-year-old became the ninth person to be executed in Florida in 2025, with two additional executions scheduled for later this month.
Zakrzewski was pronounced dead after receiving a three-drug lethal injection consisting of a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug. He had been on Death Row since 1994, when he was found guilty of killing his wife, Sylvia, and their two children, aged seven and five.
After committing the murders, Zakrzewski fled to Molokai Island, Hawaii, where he remained for four months. He was eventually recognized by a local minister after appearing on Unsolved Mysteries and later turned himself in. Reports indicate that he confessed he would rather kill his family than allow his wife to divorce him.
His final appeal for a stay of execution was denied on Wednesday, cementing his place as the ninth person executed in Florida this year—a record for the state.
Prison officials stated that Zakrzewski’s last meal consisted of fried pork chops, root beer, and ice cream. His final words were chilling:
“I want to thank the good people of the Sunshine State for killing me in the most cold, calculated, clean, humane, efficient way possible. I have no complaint.”
This year, Florida is on track to surpass Texas in the number of executions for the first time since 1984. The state’s previous record since reinstating capital punishment in 1976 was eight executions, set in 2014.
