Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Dominick Occhicone, an 80-year-old inmate convicted of double murder in Pasco County nearly four decades ago. Occhicone is scheduled to be executed on July 28 for the 1986 murders of Raymond and Martha Artzner inside their Holiday home. If the execution proceeds as scheduled, he will become the oldest person executed in modern Florida history, surpassing Dusty Ray Spencer who was 74 years old when executed recently. The murders stemmed from Occhicone’s anger over his former girlfriend’s decision to end their relationship. On June 10, 1986, Occhicone first knocked on the sliding glass door of her bedroom but left after she refused to speak with him and threatened to call law enforcement. About an hour later, he returned armed with a handgun, yelled outside the home, pounded on doors and windows, and cut the home’s telephone lines. Raymond Artzner went outside carrying a broomstick and ordered Occhicone to leave before being shot in the chest. As Occhicone forced his way into the home by breaking through a locked door, his former girlfriend and her daughter fled to a neighbor’s residence where Occhicone shot Martha Artzner four times, killing her. A responding Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy found Raymond Artzner still alive who identified Dom as the shooter before dying from his injuries. During his 1987 trial, defense attorneys argued that Occhicone’s history of alcohol abuse and emotional distress following the breakup prevented him from forming the intent necessary to commit first-degree murder. Jurors rejected that argument and voted 7-5 to recommend a death sentence for the murder of Martha Artzner while Occhicone received a life sentence for the murder of Raymond Artzner. Over the past four decades, Occhicone has filed numerous appeals challenging both his conviction and death sentence but each has been denied. Unless a court grants a stay of execution, Occhicone is scheduled to be executed on July 28.
Florida Governor Signs Death Warrant For Oldest Inmate Execution In Modern History
