[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLORIDA

[Rick Halperin]

April 12



FLORIDA----execution

Fla serial killer executed for girl's 1983 death


A Florida inmate was put to death Thursday, nearly 3 decades after the murder 
of 17-year-old Lynn Elliott, whose failed escape attempt ended a string of 
rapes and slayings that shook the quiet coastal town of Vero Beach.

David Alan Gore, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. Thursday after receiving 
an injection at the Florida State Prison, officials said. Authorities said he 
made a final statement in which he apologized to the family and said he hoped 
they would find peace, adding he was not the same man he was then.

In all, Gore killed 4 teenage girls and 2 women, authorities say. Elliott's 
murder was the only 1 for which he was sentenced to death.

Elliott's parents had said as Thursday's execution time approached that this 
was the day they have been waiting for - a date many thought should have come 
years ago, considering there was no doubt he committed the crimes and he had 
shown no remorse for the killings.

"For us it's been a nightmare, because I just turned 81. I was beginning to 
think that I might die before he went," said Carl Elliott, the girl's father, 
recently.

Jeanne Elliott almost did die. About 2 years ago she was in a coma, and doctors 
told her son to begin making funeral arrangements. She suddenly began 
recovering, and she said she believes it was because of her wish to see the 
58-year-old Gore die 1st.

Gore met with a spiritual adviser earlier Thursday and was visited by his 
mother and an ex-wife. He was calm and cooperative, said Department of 
Corrections spokeswoman Ann Howard.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a final appeal less than two hours before the 
scheduled execution. The justices rejected an argument that Gore's death 
sentence should be lifted because a prior appellate attorney failed to locate a 
key witness for a claim that his trial lawyers were negligent during the case's 
penalty phase.

On July 26, 1983, Gore and his cousin Fred Waterfield picked up Lynn Elliott 
and her 14-year-old friend hitchhiking to Wabasso Beach north of Vero Beach. 
They took them at gunpoint to Gore's parents' house. Waterfield left and Gore 
raped the girls, who were bound in separate rooms.

Elliott freed her legs and ran naked from the house, hands still tied behind 
her back. Gore, also naked, chased her, drug her back toward the house as she 
kicked and screamed and then shot her twice in the head. Police were called 
after a boy witnessed the murder. Gore was caught and the other girl rescued.

After his arrest, Gore admitted to killing 3 other girls and 2 women and led 
authorities to the bodies of 4 of the victims. He was sentenced to life in 
prison for the other murders.

Gore managed to stretch out his appeals and remain on death row 28 years after 
he was condemned. Gov. Rick Scott signed his death warrant after the Scripps 
Treasure Coast Newspapers asked him about the case.

"I've been waiting for this day for years. I would've saved the state a lot of 
money if they let me. I'd do it myself and have no qualms about it," said Mike 
Daley, whose wife, Judy Kay Daley was killed by Gore in July 1981.

Daley was Gore's third victim. He disabled her car while she was alone on a 
secluded beach, then waited for her to try to start it. When she couldn't, he 
offered her a ride, raped her, killed her, then chopped up her body. More than 
2 years later, he led authorities to where he buried her skull, hands and feet. 
He said he threw the rest of her body in a canal.

5 months earlier, Gore kidnapped, raped and murdered Ying Hua Ling, 17, and her 
mother, Hsiang Huang Ling, 48. Their bodies were stuffed in steel drums and 
buried in the orange grove where he worked.

Gore was arrested in July 1981 after being found in the back seat of a woman's 
car. He was shirtless and had a cocktail in one hand and a gun in the other. He 
also had handcuffs, rope and a police scanner. Gore was sentenced to five years 
in prison, though he was paroled and served only about a year-and-a-half. He 
soon began killing again.

In May 1983, Gore and Waterfield picked up 2 14-year-old hitchhikers, Barbara 
Ann Byer and Angelica LaVallee. The girls were raped, killed and dismembered. 
While Gore says Waterfield was his partner throughout the killing spree, this 
was the only case that earned Waterfield a murder conviction. He is serving 
back-to-back life sentences.

(source: Associated Press)

************

David Alan Gore executed----After 28 years on death row, Indian River County's 
most notorious serial killer is put to death


Convicted serial killer David Alan Gore's rein of terror on Indian River County 
officially ended Thursday evening as his death sentence was carried out. A 
lethal injection killed Gore, 58. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. Thursday 
at Florida State Prison in Starke, state Department of Corrections officials 
announced. Gore was on death row for 28 years.

Less than 2 hours before the scheduled 6 p.m. execution, state and local 
officials learned the U.S. Supreme Court denied all of Gore's 11th-hour 
appeals, clearing the way for the execution.

“The Supreme Court has denied everything,” Assistant State Attorney Ryan Butler 
said about 90 minutes before the execution, adding officials received the 
information via telephone late this afternoon. “A written order of denial will 
be forthcoming.”

During the 4:30 p.m. media update, Florida Department of Corrections 
Communications Director Ann Howard announced Gore has prepared a hand-written a 
press statement. However, it wasn't immediately available.

When asked about the tone of the statement, she said, “I would say it’s 
remorseful.”

Gore received his last meal early this afternoon and was visited for an hour by 
his mother and an ex-wife in preparation for the execution.

Gore is being executed for the July 1983 1st-degree murder of Lynn Elliott, 17, 
of Vero Beach. He also confessed to killing 5 other women and girls.

During the 1:30 p.m. update, Howard said Gore was being visited by a religious 
advisor, but she didn’t say who it was, what religion the advisor represented 
or what they discussed.

He spent an hour visiting with his mother Velma Gore and an ex-wife, Howard 
said. She didn’t say which of Gore’s 3 wives had visited him.

Gore also has received his last meal, Howard confirmed.

“It was fried chicken, French fries, butter pecan ice cream and a soft drink,” 
she said. “So pretty simple.”

Gore’s demeanor today has been “calm,” Howard said, without elaborating.

(source: TC Palm)

***************

Indian River County teen among David Alan Gore's victims----Girl's dad says he 
looks forward to opening bottle of champagne after execution


WPBF 25 News' Victor Blackwell spoke with the father of that teenager, Lynn 
Elliott. She was just 17 when Gore raped and shot her back in 1983.

Carl Elliott and 7 other relatives and friends will witness Gore's execution at 
the Florida State Prison in Starke.

"They showed a picture of the gurney where they strap him down and give him the 
lethal injection," Elliott told Blackwell. "They also showed a picture of the 
electric chair."

Elliott said he thinks his daughter's killer deserves to die.

"I think he ought to suffer a little bit after all he's put these people 
through," he said. "When we get back here on Friday, as a family, we're going 
to sit and open a bottle of champagne and celebrate a little bit, too."

(source: WPBF News)