ORLANDO, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a dying warrant for Thomas Lee Gudinas, who was sentenced to dying for the 1994 homicide of Michelle McGrath in Orlando.
The execution is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, at 6 p.m.
In line with a letter from the governor’s workplace to Florida State Jail Warden David Allen, Gudinas was convicted of first-degree homicide, two counts of sexual battery, tried sexual battery, and tried housebreaking with an assault.
The homicide occurred on Could 23, 1994. McGrath was allegedly final seen at an Orlando bar at 2:45 a.m. Her physique was found in an alley behind Tempo Faculty in Downtown Orlando at 7:30 a.m.
A witness reported seeing a white man, later recognized as Gudinas, flee the alley after adjusting his pants, in accordance with the letter. McGrath’s automobile was allegedly discovered close to Gudinas’s residence.
Earlier that night time, Rachelle Smith reported an tried assault in the identical bar’s parking zone. She allegedly recognized Gudinas from a photographic lineup as the person who tried to smash her automobile window and assault her.
Throughout Gudinas’s trial, his roommates testified that he was not at their residence once they returned from the bar. In line with the letter, two roommates acknowledged they noticed Gudinas the subsequent day with blood on his underwear and scratches on his knuckles.
One roommate testified that Gudinas stated he “f___ed [the victim] whereas she was useless,” and one other heard him say, “I killed her after which I f___ed her.”
The medical expert testified that McGrath died from blunt drive head accidents and had been sexually assaulted. Defensive wounds, chew marks, and two damaged stick sections inserted into her physique have been additionally famous.
