Man who had denied ever raping and murdering neighbour 27 years ago is killed

Norman Mearle Grim Jr was convicted of the sexual battery and first-degree murder of Cynthia Campbell whose battered body was found in water near Pensacola, Florida

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A man who denied raping and murdering his neighbour 27 years ago was today executed on death row.

Norman Mearle Grim Jr, 65, had been convicted of the sexual battery and first-degree murder of Cynthia Campbell despite, in court, claiming he hadn't carried out the offences. However, he was today given a three-drug injection on death row in Florida, becoming the state's record 15th execution this year.

Asked if he wished to make a final statement, he said: "No sir." Grim was then given the jab, which led to him breathing heavily and twitching slightly before he was declared dead - nearly three decades after Ms Campbell's death.

After the young woman was reported missing in 1998, her battered body was found in waters near the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Florida by a fisherman.

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Prosecutors said Ms Campbell had suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to her face and head that were consistent with being struck by a hammer, as well has 11 stab wounds in the chest. An autopsy revealed seven of the stab wounds penetrated her heart. Physical evidence including DNA tied Grim to her killing.

But he denied the offences, and was eventually found guilty after a trial in 2000. The man was sentenced to death that year, and this was carried out today 27 years on.

Since the US Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Texas and Alabama with five each.

After a death warrant is signed and an execution date is set, inmates have a last chance to make appeals to the Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court. Grim received no visitors Tuesday and did not meet with a spiritual adviser, authorities said.

A total of 40 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the US, and at least 18 other people are scheduled to be put to death during the remainder of 2025 and next year.

Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Texas and Alabama with five each. Two more executions are planned for next month in Florida under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Two more executions are planned next month in Florida. Bryan Fredrick Jennings, 66, is scheduled for the state's 16th execution on November 13. He was convicted of raping and killing a six-year-old girl in 1979 after entering through a window and abducting her from her central Florida home.