STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of fatally stabbing his cousin’s girlfriend and the couple's 4-year-old daughter was put to death Thursday evening, the seventh person executed by the state this year.
Richard Knight, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Knight was convicted of first-degree murder in the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and the couple's daughter, Hanessia Mullings.
When the death chamber curtain went up at the scheduled 6 p.m. execution time, Knight was already strapped down with arms extended and an IV line in place. Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Knight said, “I want to give thanks to Yahweh, who is the most high."
The execution began immediately afterward. Knight closed his eyes and barely moved as the drugs began flowing. After about 10 minutes, a medic was called in and Knight was declared dead.
Florida's seventh execution of the year followed a record 19 executions in the state in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was eight in 2014. And all told, a total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025.
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.
Hans Mullings, who was Stephen’s boyfriend and the father of the 4-year-old, told reporters after witnessing Thursday's execution that his family still grieves the loss.
“The pain never leaves,” Mullings said. “We love them still, and we can’t stop loving them. We miss them a lot.”
Stephen's sisters and mother didn’t attend the execution, but provided a statement expressing closure.
“Words cannot express the profound sense of peace and finality we feel today," it said. "While this does not fill the empty space in our hearts, the closing of this long, painful chapter allows us to fully focus on honoring the beautiful lives of Odessia and Hanessia.”
“Richard, may our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grant you the mercy you failed to give our loved ones whom you so brutally took from us that night,” the statement added.
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Knight’s final appeal without comment.
That came shortly after the planned execution of a Tennessee inmate, Tony Carruthers, was called off. Tennessee officials said a team quickly established Carruthers' main IV line for a lethal injection but couldn't find a suitable vein for a backup line required under the state's execution protocol. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee later announced the state would not try again for at least a year to execute Carruthers, who was convicted of killing three people.
Also this week, an Arizona prisoner convicted of killing another man by throwing gasoline at him and lighting a match was put to death Wednesday. Leroy Dean McGill, 63, received a lethal injection at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence for the death of Charles Perez, who was attacked at a north Phoenix apartment in 2002.
Florida, meanwhile, is preparing to conduct another execution on June 2. Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was convicted of fatally beating of his girlfriend's infant daughter in 1996. All Florida executions are by lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, officials say.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)