Convicted Killer Of Mom, 3 Kids Executed In FL

RAIFORD, FL — A 62-year-old Gulf War combat veteran whose experience triggered severe mental problems before he was convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend and her three children with a shotgun in Okaloosa County was executed Thursday night.

The Florida Department of Corrections said Jeffrey Hutchinson was executed around 8:15 p.m. by lethal injection at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.

Hutchinson was convicted of killing the family of four in September 1998 in Crestview, the county seat of Okaloosa.

Florida prison records showed he was convicted of four counts of first-degree premeditated or attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison on one charge and the death sentence on the remaining three charges on Feb. 6, 2001.

Hutchinson had long claimed that he was innocent and that two unknown assailants perpetrated the killings under a U.S. government conspiracy aimed at silencing his activism on claims including Gulf War illnesses involving veterans. Hutchinson served eight years in the Army, part of it as an elite Ranger.

Court records, however, showed that on the night of the killings in Crestview, Hutchinson argued with his girlfriend, 32-year-old Renee Flaherty, then packed his clothes and guns into a truck. Hutchinson went to a bar and drank some beer, telling staff there that Flaherty was angry with him before leaving abruptly.

A short time later, a male caller told a 911 operator, “I just shot my family” from the house Hutchinson and Flaherty shared with the three children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda and 4-year-old Logan. All were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun that was found on a kitchen counter. Hutchinson was located by police in the garage with a phone still connected to the 911 center and gunshot residue on his hands.

Evidence also included Geoffrey's tissue on Hutchinson's body, an audio acknowledgement made during a 911 call, People Magazine reported, citing a statement of facts filed in the case.

"I love my family," Hutchinson said to the 911 operator, per People. "Ma'am I love my family."

Hutchinson denied an insanity defense, holding to his claim that two intruders killed his family, People reported.

Darran Johnson, the brother of Renee Flaherty, said after the execution that justice was done, but the family’s pain will never end.

“Not a day goes by that we don’t think about the loved ones that were taken from us,” Johnson said.

Hutchinson filed numerous unsuccessful appeals, many focused on mental health problems linked to his Army service. In late April his lawyers sought to delay his execution by claiming he was insane and therefore could not be put to death.

In their court filings, Hutchinson’s lawyers said he suffered from Gulf War Illness — a series of health problems stemming from the 1990-1991 war in Iraq — as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia related to his claim that he was targeted by government surveillance.

Hutchsinson is the fourth person executed in Florida this year, behind Michael A Tanzi, Edward James and James D. Ford.

The Associated Press contributed writing and reporting.