A Florida man who brutally killed his wife and two young children with a machete in 1994 was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, July 31—marking the highest number of annual executions in the state since the death penalty was reinstated.
Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was put to death at Florida State Prison in Bradford County, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.
Court documents reveal that Zakrzewski and his wife, 34-year-old Sylvia, had been struggling with marital issues. He reportedly told a neighbor on two separate occasions that he would rather kill his family than face a divorce.
On the morning of June 9, 1994, after learning that Sylvia was planning to leave him, Zakrzewski bought a machete during his lunch break. He then returned home after work and waited for his family to arrive.
When they did, he attacked Sylvia in the living room—knocking her unconscious and strangling her with a rope. He then turned to his 7-year-old son, Edward, and killed him with the machete, according to the documents.
His 5-year-old daughter, Anna, was the next victim. Zakrzewski struck her with the machete while she was in the bathroom.
After committing the murders, Zakrzewski fled to Orlando and boarded a flight to Hawaii. There, he assumed a new identity and lived with a religious commune for four months, the court documents state.
His cover was blown when the commune watched an episode of Unsolved Mysteries and recognized his photo. The next day, Zakrzewski surrendered to local authorities.
Over the years, his legal team filed several appeals—all of which were ultimately denied, records show.
On the morning of his execution, Zakrzewski woke up at 5:15 a.m. and requested fried pork chops, root beer, and ice cream for his final meal, CBS News reported, citing a spokesperson from the state Department of Corrections. He had one visitor that day and remained compliant in his final hours.
Florida uses a three-drug protocol for lethal injections: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
With Zakrzewski’s death, Florida has now carried out more executions in 2025 than in any year since 2014. He was the ninth person executed this year, per the Death Penalty Information Center.
