Florida has executed a former Air Force sergeant convicted in a brutal triple murder that stunned the state over three decades ago. The execution marks the ninth in Florida this year — the highest annual total in the state’s modern history.
Edward Zakrzewski II was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday, July 31, for the 1994 murders of his wife and two young children in Mary Esther, a coastal town in Florida’s Panhandle. Prosecutors said Zakrzewski killed his family with a machete after his wife told him she was filing for divorce.
His victims — 34-year-old Sylvia, 7-year-old Edward Jr., and 5-year-old Anna — were found in the family bathtub. Zakrzewski was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. ET.
“I want to thank the good people of the Sunshine State for killing me in the most cold and calculated, clean, humane and efficient way possible,” Zakrzewski said in his final statement. “I have no complaints whatsoever.”
With nine executions this year, Florida has surpassed all other states and broken its own previous records — which stood at eight executions in both 1984 and 2014.
The state could soon overtake Texas in executions for the first time since 1984. Governor Ron DeSantis has made capital punishment a priority, stating in May that he wants to deliver justice for victims’ families who have waited years, sometimes decades, for closure.
“There are some crimes that are just so horrific, the only appropriate punishment is the death penalty,” DeSantis said.
Nationwide, Zakrzewski’s death marks the 27th execution of 2025 — a 10-year high.
What was Edward Zakrzewski’s last meal?
Zakrzewski chose a final meal of fried pork chops, fried onions, potatoes, bacon, toast, root beer, ice cream, pie, and coffee.
What crime was Zakrzewski convicted of?
According to court records, Zakrzewski’s son called him at work on June 9, 1994, to tell him that his wife was filing divorce papers that day. During his lunch break, Zakrzewski bought a machete, brought it home, sharpened it, and concealed it along with a crowbar.
That evening, he asked his children to watch TV. He then attacked Sylvia, striking her repeatedly with the crowbar, placing a plastic bag over her head, and strangling her with a rope.
Afterward, he summoned each child separately under the pretense of brushing their teeth — then killed them with the machete. Zakrzewski dragged Sylvia — still alive — to the bathroom, where he used the machete to strike her head and neck. He left all three bodies in the tub.
Zakrzewski fled the state and spent months hiding on Molokai Island in Hawaii, living under an alias. He befriended a Pentecostal minister, who let him stay in a shack in exchange for maintenance work. His cover was blown after he was recognized on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, prompting him to surrender.
Zakrzewski pleaded guilty, though his attorneys argued against the death penalty, citing his honorable military record, his voluntary confession, and what they described as “sincere remorse.”
However, Judge G. Robert Barron was unswayed by these claims. He emphasized the especially cruel nature of Anna’s murder, noting that she was likely forced to witness her brother’s death and was then made to kneel beside the tub before being killed.
“This court could not imagine a more heinous and atrocious way to die,” Barron said during sentencing. He called the killings “the product of probably months and undeniably hours of cool, calm reflection, and careful planning,” concluding that death was the only appropriate punishment.
Who was Edward Zakrzewski II?
Zakrzewski, one of five siblings, grew up in Michigan and later became estranged from his family, according to archived reporting in the Kalamazoo Gazette. During his military service, he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service.
During the trial, defense attorney Elton Killam said his client was driven by a toxic marriage, citing allegations of infidelity, psychological abuse, and financial recklessness by Sylvia. Killam also said Zakrzewski feared his children would suffer discrimination growing up in Korea — Sylvia’s native country — referring to the children in court as “half breeds,” according to an archived Associated Press report.
Killam recounted that Zakrzewski met Sylvia while stationed in Montana. They later moved to South Korea and eventually to Florida. According to the defense, Sylvia had an affair in Korea, miscarried a lover’s child, and racked up large bills calling him from the U.S., all while spending heavily at nightclubs and casinos.
Zakrzewski’s current attorney, Lisa Fusaro, told USA TODAY that “Zakrzewski is very remorseful and has become very spiritual over the years.”
“He helps to mentor other death row inmates and practices yoga and meditation,” she said. “He has continued to stay in contact with his family and friends all these years, who are deeply saddened by the signing of his (death) warrant.”
USA TODAY was unable to locate any surviving relatives of Zakrzewski’s victims for comment.
What’s happening in Florida?
Florida has already carried out nine executions in 2025, with two more scheduled for August. More death warrants are expected as Governor DeSantis continues to sign them.
This surge contributes to a nationwide increase in executions. So far, 27 inmates have been executed across the U.S. this year, with at least 10 more expected — setting the stage for the busiest year in over a decade.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said Florida’s sharp rise in executions “represents an unprecedented investment of taxpayer dollars and resources to enact a policy that has never been shown to improve public safety or deter crime.”
“When compared to the rest of the country, Florida is clearly an outlier in the way that it enthusiastically uses the death penalty despite rising public concerns, high cost, and low public support,” she said, pointing to studies showing declining national support for capital punishment. As of 2024, a Gallup poll found support for the death penalty at around 53%.
Texas remains the leading state for executions overall, with 594 since the modern death penalty era began in 1976. Oklahoma follows with 129, and Florida with 115. Until this year, Texas had outpaced or matched Florida’s numbers every year except 1979, 1984, and now 2025.
Zakrzewski’s legal team sought a reprieve
In a final effort, Zakrzewski’s lawyers appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that his 1996 death sentence would not meet the threshold required under current law.
At the time, his jury voted 7-5 for the death penalty in the murders of his wife and son, and split 6-6 for his daughter. Current Florida law requires at least eight jurors to recommend death.
“Standards of decency have evolved,” his attorneys wrote. However, the court found the appeal meritless and denied the request.
