Florida Executes Killer of Woman, Her 4-Year-Old

A Florida man convicted of fatally stabbing his cousin's girlfriend and the couple's 4-year-old daughter was put to death Thursday, becoming the seventh person executed by the state this year. Richard Knight, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:13pm after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis said. DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi told the AP by phone that there were no complications.

Knight received the death penalty for his murder convictions in the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and her daughter, Hanessia Mullings. According to court records, Knight had been living in Coral Springs, near Fort Lauderdale, with his cousin, his cousin's girlfriend and their daughter in 2000. Knight and Stephens frequently argued about Knight living there. One evening while Knight's cousin was at work, Stephens told Knight he would have to move out the next morning. Knight became angry and stabbed Stephens multiple times and then attacked the young girl, the records show. Hours before Thursday's execution, the US Supreme Court rejected a final appeal by Knight without comment.