JUST IN: Florida Executes Jamaican Man Who Murdered Pregnant Mother and Little Girl

Florida carried out the execution of Richard Andrew Knight Jr., a 47-year-old Jamaican-born man, on May 21, 2026, for the savage 2000 double murder of his cousin’s pregnant girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter. Knight was pronounced ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, becoming the seventh person executed by the state this year under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The crimes that sealed Knight’s fate occurred in the early morning hours of June 17, 2000, in Broward County. Knight, then 21, stabbed 27-year-old Odessia Stephens — who was six weeks pregnant — and her daughter Hanessia Mullings to death inside their home. Stephens suffered multiple stab wounds; her young daughter was also repeatedly stabbed. The brutality shocked investigators and the community.

Knight had been raised in Jamaica after his mother abandoned him as a toddler outside a hospital in Port Maria. He was taken in by relatives of the Mullings family and raised alongside Hanessia’s father. On the night of the murders, Knight was staying with the family. Prosecutors proved he attacked the mother and child while the father was away, then attempted to cover his tracks.

Knight’s cousin, who testified at trial, provided key evidence. The jury convicted Knight of two counts of first-degree murder in 2006. He spent nearly two decades on death row. Appeals were exhausted, and Gov. DeSantis signed the death warrant earlier this year.

On execution day, Knight’s final words were: “I want to give thanks to Yahweh, who is the most high.” He offered no apology to the victims’ family. The execution proceeded without incident after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay.

The case stands as a stark example of intra-family violence and the long wait for justice. Odessia Stephens never got to meet her unborn child; Hanessia, described by relatives as a bright and loving little girl, lost her life at just four years old. Family members who attended the execution expressed relief that the nightmare had finally ended.

Florida’s aggressive pace of executions — seven in 2026 alone — continues to draw national attention. Knight’s case, involving a Jamaican immigrant convicted of murdering a pregnant woman and her young daughter, has become one of the most discussed capital cases of the year.

As the state moves forward with its capital punishment schedule, the execution of Richard Knight closes another chapter in Florida’s ongoing record of swift justice for the most heinous crimes.