William Vandiver was executed by the State of Indiana for the murder of his father in law
According to court documents William Vandiver would conspire with other members of his wife’s family to murder Paul Komyatti Sr. On the day of the murder William Vandiver was waiting outside for Paul to arrive. When he was given the signal he would attack Komyatti and stabbed him over a 100 times with a fishing knife
William Vandiver would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
William Vandiver would be executed by way of the electric chair on October 16 1985. The execution did not go well as it took five additional jolts and nearly twenty minutes for Vandiver to die
William Vandiver Photos
William Vandiver FAQ
When was William Vandiver executed
William Vandiver was executed on October 16 1985
How was William Vandiver executed
William Vandiver would be executed by way of the electric chair
William Vandiver Case
Indiana’s 72-year-old electric chair took 17 minutes and five jolts of electricity yesterday to execute a man for the stabbing and dismemberment of his father-in-law; a prison official said the mechanism was working properly.
The chair, which is wired directly to a Northern Indiana Public Service Co. power substation, will be tested again “to reconfirm what we already know — that it was not malfunctioning in any way,” a Department of Correction spokesman said.
William E. Vandiver, 37, was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m. in the wooden chair that has been used for executions since it was fashioned from the gallows abandoned by the state in 1913 after 13 hangings.
Dr. Rodger D. Saylors said the first jolts, 2,300 volts for 10 seconds and 500 volts for 20 seconds, left Vandiver brain-dead but breathing. The doctor said he could not explain why Vandiver survived a third surge, 500 volts for 20 seconds, with a heart rate of 40 beats per minute before he was killed by 2,300 volts for five seconds followed by 500 volts for 25 seconds.
Herbert Shaps, Vandiver’s attorney and a witness to the execution, said Vandiver was hooded and sitting with his fists clenched when he was strapped into the chair at 12:02 a.m.
Vandiver’s fists remained clenched throughout most of the execution, Shaps said. “I think it was outrageous,” he said.
Vandiver was convicted in the 1983 slaying of his father-in-law, Paul Komyatti Sr., 65, a retired Hammond construction worker.
Vandiver’s wife, Mariann, and Komyatti’s wife and son, Rosemary and Paul Jr., also were convicted in the death and sentenced to prison. Investigators say the family hated the strict Komyatti and hoped to benefit from the inheritance.