Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson, a 62-year-old Gulf War veteran, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford at 8:14 p.m. Eastern Time on May 1, 2025. His execution concludes a decades-long legal process following his conviction for the 1998 shotgun murders of his live-in girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, and her three young children: Geoffrey (9), Amanda (7), and Logan (4).
The tragic events unfolded on the night of September 11, 1998, in Crestview, Florida. After an argument with Flaherty, Hutchinson left their shared home and visited a local bar, where he consumed beer and expressed frustration about the dispute. Approximately 40 minutes later, a 911 call was placed from their residence. The caller stated, “I just shot my family,” a voice that two of Hutchinson’s close friends later identified as his. Upon arrival, deputies found Hutchinson in the garage with the phone still connected to 911. Inside the home, Flaherty and her two younger children were found shot in the master bedroom, while Geoffrey was discovered in the living room, having sustained two gunshot wounds. The murder weapon, a Mossberg 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun registered to Hutchinson, was found on the kitchen counter. Gunshot residue was present on Hutchinson’s hands, and tissue from one of the victims was found on his leg.
During his 2001 trial, Hutchinson claimed that two masked intruders were responsible for the killings, asserting that he struggled with them before they fled. However, the jury found him guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. He received a life sentence for Flaherty’s murder and three death sentences for the murders of the children. The court cited the particularly heinous nature of Geoffrey’s death, noting that the child was conscious and attempted to defend himself before being fatally shot.
Hutchinson’s defense team presented evidence of his mental health struggles, including Gulf War illness and post-traumatic stress disorder, arguing that these conditions impaired his judgment. Despite these claims, multiple appeals were denied over the years, with courts consistently finding him mentally competent and upholding the original sentences. His final appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court shortly before his execution.
At the time of execution, Hutchinson declined to make a final statement. Witnesses reported that he appeared to mumble and experienced body spasms during the procedure, which lasted over 15 minutes.
This execution marks the fourth carried out in Florida in 2025 under death warrants signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
