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In Starke, Florida, preparations are underway for the state’s fifth execution of the year, as Chadwick Willacy faces the death penalty for the murder of his neighbor, Marlys Sather, in 1990. Scheduled for April 21 at Florida State Prison, Willacy will receive a lethal injection comprised of three substances: a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping agent.
Details of the crime have been laid out in a death warrant signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in March. The warrant recounts how Willacy launched a brutal attack on Sather when she interrupted his burglary of her Palm Bay residence.
According to the document, Willacy’s assault was particularly vicious. He reportedly used a squeegee and a hammer to beat Sather, then strangled her with an electrical cord from an iron. After binding her, he moved her to another room, where he poured gasoline over her and set her ablaze.
The document states that Willacy beat Sather with a squeegee and a hammer and choked her with an electric cord he removed from an iron. He then tied her up, leaving her completely immobile as he dragged her into another room, doused her body with gasoline, and set her on fire.
Authorities said Willacy removed the smoke detectors from Sather’s home and placed an oscillating fan at her feet to fan the flames. Her badly burned body was found the next day.
It didn’t take long for detectives to discover who was responsible as Willacy left the home with several stolen items, including Sather’s checkbook and coins.
He was convicted about a year later, and a jury recommended he be put to death by a vote of nine to three. The Florida Supreme Court later reversed the sentence and remanded the case for a new penalty proceeding. However, at resentencing, Willacy was again given the death penalty, and that sentence was affirmed.
DeSantis has signed a flurry of death warrants in recent months, with a record 19 people executed in the state last year.
Willacy will be the fifth person to be put to death in 2026. The number would have been higher; however, the Florida Supreme Court temporarily halted the March execution of James Aren Duckett due to ongoing DNA testing that he has argued could exonerate him. Duckett, a former police officer, was convicted in 1988 of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl.
The last person to be put to death in Florida was Michael King, who in 2008, kidnapped and murdered Denise Amber Lee, a North Port mother.