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An evil death row killer was executed yesterday (Wednesday, May 3) moments after giving some hollow words to his victim's family.

Darryl B. Barwick was executed at Florida State Prison by lethal injection, 37 years after he broke into a woman's home and stabbed her to death.

The US Supreme Court denied the 56-year-old’s final appeal for a stay of execution hours before his death.

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“It’s time to apologize to the victim’s family, to my family. I can’t explain why I did what I did,” Barwick said before he was injected with the lethal three-drug cocktail, the News Journal reported.

The victim’s family did not attend the execution and none of Barwick’s family or friends were in attendance.

Barwick had his last meal of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas and cornbread, and a Coca-Cola shortly after 9 am local time.

Barwick confessed to killing 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt in her Panama City apartment on March 31, 1986, after watching her sunbathing outside and following her back to her room.

He said he intended to rob Ms Wendt but a struggle resulted in Barwick stabbing her 37 times.

Evidence at the time suggested that someone had unsuccessfully attempted to remove the young woman's swimsuit.

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The horrifying crime occurred months after Barwick had been released from prison for raping a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint.

Ms Wendt's bathing suit appeared as though someone had tried unsuccessfully to remove it, officials said.

There was no evidence of sexual assault, but medical examiners reported finding semen on a blanket where her body was found.

Barwick was linked to the crime through his confession, the semen stain, and a witness who saw him heading toward and leaving Wendt's apartment. As well as footprints left inside and outside the apartment.

He was convicted of murder, armed burglary, and attempted sexual battery in November 1986. He was sentenced to death two months later.

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The Florida Supreme Court threw out that conviction in 1989 because of prosecutorial misconduct. Barwick was again convicted at his 1992 retrial and that jury unanimously recommended death.

In his confession for Ms Wendt's killing, Barwick said he stabbed her because he did not want to go back to prison.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Barwick's death warrant last month. It is the third execution scheduled in Florida this year after a break dating back to 2019.

The execution will mark the state's 102nd since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

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