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Florida man convicted of killing 2 women whose bodies were found in a pond is set to be executed

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Florida man convicted of killing 2 women whose bodies were found in a pond is set to be executed


STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of killing two women whose bodies were found in a rural pond is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday evening.

Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. It would be Florida’s 14th death sentence carried out in 2025, further extending the state record for executions in a single year.

Since the U.S. 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 with five.

Smithers was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1999.

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According to court records, Smithers met Christy Cowan and Denise Roach on different dates in May 1996 at a Tampa motel to pay them for sex. At the time, he was doing landscape maintenance on a 27-acre (11-hectare) property that included three ponds in rural Plant City, Florida.

On May 28, 1996, the property owner — who had met Smithers in church where he was a Baptist deacon — stopped by to find Smithers cleaning an axe in the carport, which he claimed to be using to trim tree limbs. The property owner noticed a pool of blood in the carport, and Smithers told her that someone must have come by and killed a small animal, according to court records.

The woman contacted law enforcement, and a sheriff’s deputy met her later that day at the property. The blood had been cleaned up, but the deputy noticed drag marks leading to one of the ponds, according to court records. That’s where authorities found the bodies of Cowan and Roach. Both women had been severely beaten, strangled and left in the pond to die.

The Florida Supreme Court denied an appeal from Smithers last week. His attorneys had argued that his age should make him ineligible for execution under the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Although Smithers would be one of the oldest people ever executed in Florida, the justices ruled that the elderly are not categorically exempt from the death penalty.

An appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court was still pending.

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A total of 35 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and at least eight other people are scheduled to be put to death during the remainder of 2025.

Norman Mearle Grim Jr., 65, is scheduled for Florida’s 15th execution on Oct. 28. He was convicted of raping and killing his neighbor, whose body was found by a fisherman near the Pensacola Bay Bridge in 1998.

Bryan Fredrick Jennings, 66, is set for Florida’s 16th execution on Nov. 13. He was convicted of raping and killing a 6-year-old girl after abducting her from her central Florida home in 1979.

Florida executions are carried out using a three-drug injection: a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.



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Florida couple in alleged embryo mix-up have identified biological parents of ‘non-caucasian’ baby

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Florida couple in alleged embryo mix-up have identified biological parents of ‘non-caucasian’ baby


A Florida couple who claimed a fertility clinic error led the woman giving birth to a “non-Caucasian child” who was not related to them said they have identified their child’s biological parents, according to reports.

“The results of testing delivered to us today confirm that our baby’s genetic parents have been identified,” Tiffany Score and Steven Mills said in a statement obtained by People on Wednesday.

A Florida couple who claimed a fertility clinic error led to the birth of a “non-Caucasian child” who was not related to them said they have identified their child’s biological parents. Mara Hatfield

Score and Mills filed a lawsuit in January against Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging that another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus in April 2025.

The mix-up led to the birth of their now 4-month-old daughter, Shea, who is not biologically related to them, the filing alleged.

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“This ends one chapter in our heartbreaking journey, but it raises new issues that will have to be resolved,” the statement continued. “In addition, questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and are even more unlikely to ever be answered.”

“Only one thing is as absolutely certain today as it was on the day our daughter was born —we will love and will be this child’s parents forever.”

The couple added that they will respect the privacy of Shea’s biological parents and will keep their identities “confidential.”

Score and Mills filed a lawsuit in January against Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging that another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus. WESH2

Score and Mills, who are both white, stored three viable embryos at the Longwood clinic in 2020 for in vitro fertilization, a process that creates embryos and stores them until pregnancy.

Five years later, after an embryo was implanted, the couple gave birth to a “beautiful, healthy female child” on Dec. 11, 2025, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 22 in Orange County Circuit Court and obtained by Law & Crime.

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“Tragically, while both Jane Doe and John Doe are racially Caucasian, Baby Doe displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child,” the lawsuit said.

Further genetic testing confirmed that baby Shea had no biological relationship to either parent — raising questions about where their embryos had gone or whether another woman was impregnated with their biological child.

The new parents had an “intensely strong emotional bond” with their child during pregnancy and wished to keep the girl, but recognized she “should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents so long as they are fit, able and willing to take her,” the lawsuit stated.

The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced earlier this month that it would close by May 20. WESH2

Scarola told People, following Wednesday’s development, that Shea’s biological parents have not made any requests to take her into custody.

“Remaining questions about the fate of Tiffany and Steven’s unaccounted for embryos…are still pending,” Scarola said.

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“The current legal proceeding will remain open to address those matters,” the attorney added. “However, we expect that we will now also begin to focus on the need for our clients to be compensated for the expenses they have incurred and the severe emotional trauma that they endured and will continue to experience.”

The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced earlier this month that it would close by May 20 — a decision leadership said was made after “thoughtful consideration.”

Neither Scarola nor the clinic immediately responded to The Post’s request for comment.



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Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida

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Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida


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Crews in Florida and Georgia are battling multiple fast-moving wildfires, stoked by dry and windy conditions. Local officials in Georgia said people in the path of the flames should be ready to evacuate. 

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Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university

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Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university


Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.

The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.

Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.

In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.

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“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.



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