Edward Zakrzewski, a Florida death row inmate convicted more than three decades ago of murdering his wife and two young children, was executed

on July 31, 2025, at Florida State Prison in Starke, marking the state’s ninth execution

of the year—a new annual high since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Florida has now surpassed its previous one-year record of eight executions set in 2014 and leads the nation in executions for 2025, with Texas and South Carolina tied for second. (AP News, AP News, PBS)

Zakrzewski, 60, had been on death row since his 1994 conviction for the brutal June 9 killings of his wife,

Sylvia, and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5, in their Okaloosa County home. According to trial testimony and later reporting, the violence unfolded after Sylvia sought a divorce.

Prosecutors said Zakrzewski attacked her first with a crowbar, strangled her with a rope, and, believing she might still be alive, also struck her with a machete.

He then used the same weapon to kill the children. Prior to the murders, he had told others he would rather kill his family than allow a divorce. (The Washington Post)

After the killings, Zakrzewski fled to Molokai Island, Hawaii, living under a false identity in a religious commune for four months.

He was eventually identified following an appearance on a television program and turned himself in. Over the ensuing decades,

his legal team filed numerous appeals, including a final request for a stay of execution that was denied just days before his death. (People.com, AP News)

He was pronounced dead at approximately 6:12 p.m. Eastern after receiving a three-drug lethal injection that included a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping agent.

Witnesses reported that before the drugs were administered, Zakrzewski quoted from a poem and appeared calm.

His last meal included fried pork chops, root beer, and ice cream

. (The Washington Post, People.com)

His final statement was striking in its tone: “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.” (The Washington Post)

The execution capped a year in which Florida, under heightened scrutiny for the pace of its capital punishment protocols,

has carried out more death sentences than any other state, contributing to a broader national uptick in executions not seen in years. (AP News, PBS)