{"id":2430,"date":"2026-06-02T11:34:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2430"},"modified":"2026-06-02T11:34:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:34:50","slug":"man-who-killed-his-girlfriends-baby-is-set-to-be-floridas-eighth-execution-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2430","title":{"rendered":"Man who killed his girlfriend\u2019s baby is set to be Florida\u2019s eighth execution of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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STARKE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 A Florida man who confessed to killing his girlfriend\u2019s infant daughter and throwing her body in a pond three decades ago is set to be executed Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

Read more Clean bills of health: Which Central Florida restaurants had perfect inspections in May?<\/a><\/p>\n

Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in 1997 for the death a year earlier of 5-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw.<\/p>\n

This would be Florida\u2019s eighth execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions 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 set in 2014 with eight executions.<\/p>\n

According to court records, Lukehart was watching his girlfriend\u2019s baby in February 1996 while his girlfriend was caring for her older daughter, who had been ill. At some point, the girlfriend said Lukehart drove away from their Jacksonville home, and she couldn\u2019t find baby Gabrielle. Lukehart called his girlfriend about 30 minutes later and told her to call police because the baby had been kidnapped and he was chasing the kidnapper.<\/p>\n

Later that evening, Lukehart was found in a neighboring county after driving his car off the road. During questioning the next day, Lukehart told investigators that Gabrielle died after he dropped the baby on her head and then shook her. He told police that he panicked and threw the baby in a pond. Law enforcement officers searched the pond and found the child\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

Read more Miss Manners: How do we tell these freeloaders that the food isn\u2019t free?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Florida Supreme Court denied Lukehart\u2019s appeals last week. His attorneys had claimed that medication he was taking for kidney disease could have a negative reaction with the lethal injection drugs. They also argued that having only a month between the signing of Lukehart\u2019s death warrant and the execution deprived him of his due process.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Lukehart\u2019s final appeal on Monday.<\/p>\n

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Another execution is planned in Florida later this month. Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992.<\/p>\n

All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n

Read more Sen. Bernie Sanders stands by Graham Platner after controversy over sexually explicit texts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, who confessed to killing his girlfriend’s infant daughter and throwing her body in a Florida pond three decades ago, is set to be executed this evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMan who killed his girlfriend\u2019s baby is set to be Florida\u2019s eighth execution of 2026 - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2430\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man who killed his girlfriend\u2019s baby is set to be Florida\u2019s eighth execution of 2026 - 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