Florida has increased executions under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. This Wednesday the “ninja assassin” will be executed for the murder of a New Jersey couple who were on vacation in the Sunshine State.
Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, is scheduled to be executed at 6:00 p.m. by lethal injection for the death of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on December 20, 1989, in their home winter in Flagler County on the northeast coast of Florida.
It will be the 100th execution in the state since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. There are another 297 people on death row in Florida.
Gaskin, who was nicknamed the “ninja killer” because he was wearing all-black ninja clothing that day, shot his victims with a .22 caliber rifle, investigators said. He was convicted of first degree murder.
The things he stole from the Sturmfels’ home — a watch, two lamps and a video recorder — were found at his residence and were intended as Christmas gifts for his girlfriend, according to investigators. He was also convicted of armed robbery, burglary, and attempted murder of another couple.