Florida man convicted in 1984 murder of babysitter executed

A Florida man convicted of the 1984 killing of a babysitter as two children slept, a woman in a separate murder and rape, was executed Thursday after being one of the state’s longest-serving death row inmates. 

Duane Owen was given a lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Starke.

Owen’s last meal consisted of a bacon cheeseburger with no bun, onion rings, strawberries, a vanilla milkshake, cherry ice cream and coffee, the Florida Department of Corrections told Fox News Digital. 

Owen, 62, was sentenced to death for the March 24, 1984, rape and stabbing attack on Karen Slattery, 14, and for the rape and killing of Georgianna Worden, 38, in May 1984, both in Palm Beach County.

He also attacked two other women in Palm Beach County who survived. Slattery was repeatedly stabbed and raped in a home in Delray Beach while two children in her care were sleeping.

Two months later, Worden was sleeping in her Boca Raton home when Owen struck her several times with a hammer and raped her. One of Worden’s children found her body the next morning while getting ready for school, according to court records.

The Florida Supreme Court rejected Owen’s most recent appeal last week and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it Wednesday.

A defense psychologist testified earlier this month that Owen believes he absorbed the souls of his victims and that they still exist inside him. 

Prosecutors argued that while Owen has mental health issues, he is aware that the execution was punishment for his crimes. 

The Associated press contributed to this report.