DeSantis orders execution for ‘ninja killer’ in 1989 murders

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of a 1989 Florida double murder for which he was dubbed a “ninja killer” is due to be executed next month on a death warrant signed Monday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Barring delays on appeal, Louis Bernard Gaskin’s execution is scheduled for April 12 at 6:00 pm, according to the governor’s office. This will be the second execution in Florida this year after a long hiatus that began in 2019.

The execution will be only the fourth under DeSantis, much slower than recent Florida governors and ahead of his widely anticipated presidential campaign.

Gaskin was convicted of first-degree murder for the murders of 56-year-old Robert Sturmfels and 55-year-old Georgette Sturmfels on December 20, 1989, at their home in Flagler County on Florida’s northeast coast. He was also convicted of armed robbery, burglary, and the attempted murder of another couple on the same night nearby.

He was nicknamed the “Ninja Assassin” because he wore an all-black ninja outfit during his crimes. Gaskin shot his victims with a .22-caliber rifle, investigators said. The property he stole from the Sturmfels’ house – a clock, two lamps and a VCR – was found in his house and was supposed to be a Christmas present for his girlfriend.

Local media then reported that Gaskin quickly confessed to the crimes and told the psychologist before the trial that he knew what he was doing.

“Guilt has always been there,” Gaskin told him. “The devil had more power than God. I knew I was wrong. I wasn’t crazy.”

In 1990, the jury voted 8–4 to recommend a death sentence, which the judge accepted. Florida law now requires a unanimous jury vote for the death penalty, though that could be changed this year by the state legislature.

Gaskin, now 56, has filed numerous appeals over the years, but by 2020 both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have cleared the way for his death warrant, Attorney General Ashley Moody said in court documents.

The state Supreme Court has set a briefing schedule for all filings for any new Gaskin appeals, which must be completed by March 31.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.