Gulf War vet, former Deer Park resident executed for heinous 1998 killing of his family
Gulf War veteran Jeffrey G. Hutchinson, who was convicted of one of Florida’s most heinous family massacres, was executed Thursday evening following the signing of a death warrant by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to documents filed in the Supreme Court of Florida that were uploaded by Justia Law.
Hutchinson, 62, was found guilty of the 1998 execution-style killings of his live-in girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, and her three children: Logan, 4; Amanda, 7; and Geoffrey, 9. The crime happened at their home in Okaloosa County in Florida, documents say.
He was sentenced after being convicted in 2001 on four counts of first-degree murder after evidence revealed he fatally shot each victim with a shotgun, documents say. Hutchinson made a chilling 911 call following the killings, reportedly stating, “I just shot my family,” though he later claimed intruders were responsible, documents say.
While Hutchinson received a life sentence for Flaherty’s murder, the court imposed the death sentence for the killings of each child, citing the brutality of the crime and the vulnerability of the children, documents say.
The weapon, a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun, was found on the kitchen counter, and Hutchinson was found at the home with gunshot residue on his hands, documents say.
Hutchinson was born in Alaska, raised in Kettle Falls and later moved to Deer Park, where he met his first wife. Hutchinson, who fought in Desert Storm and became his family’s “hero,” eventually took a job in the mid-1990s as a security guard for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Robert Hutchinson said his brother took on Flaherty’s kids like they were his own, noting how he would take them to barbecues and other outings. Nothing seemed amiss, he said.
The couple prepared to move from Deer Park to Crestview, Florida, when Jeffrey Hutchinson decided he wanted to start a motorcycle shop, his family said. As they packed up, Flaherty’s brother Wes Elmore said he hugged his only sister and her three kids goodbye.
He remembers telling Jeffrey Hutchinson: “Take care of my sister and her kids.”
He responded: “I will. I love your sister.”
The prosecution argued the killings were calculated, highlighting that Hutchinson had time to reflect after a fight with Flaherty, where he left the house to go to a bar and returned to commit the murders, documents say. Prosecutors emphasized the deliberate method used and the horror Geoffrey experienced as he saw his family slain before he was shot twice, documents further say.
Hutchinson’s defense team contended that he was intoxicated, and claimed two intruders were responsible. They also cited his Gulf War service and mental health issues, including Gulf War Syndrome and ADHD, documents say. GWS, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, is an unexplained illness of veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War. One of the symptoms of the illness includes cognitive issues, JHM added.
After multiple appeals from Hutchinson, the Florida Supreme Court upheld his convictions and death sentences, finding the evidence of premeditation compelling.
Hutchinson had been on death row for 24 years, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
The Spokesman-Review contributed to this report.