Andrew Lukehart was executed by the State of Florida on June 2 2026 for the murder of an infant in 1996
According to court documents Andrew Lukehart would tell emergency personnel that the five month old girl had fallen however it was later revealed that he had struck the infant numerous times than threw her body into a pond. At the time of the murder Lukehart was on felony probation for injury to a child
Andrew Lukehart would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Andrew Lukehart would be executed by lethal injection on June 2 2026
Andrew Lukehart Execution
A Florida man was executed nearly 30 years after he was convicted of murdering his girlfriend’s infant daughter and throwing her body in a pond.
Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, died by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke at 6:19 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, according to reports from the Associated Press, USA Today and News4JAX.
Lukehart’s final moments included a brief apology and the recitation of a Bible verse. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” he said, per the AP, which reported a priest was also present to pray over him.
Lukehart was sentenced to death in 1997 after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the 1996 beating death of 5-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw, per the outlets.
In Lukehart’s death warrant, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 1 and obtained by PEOPLE, Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote in a letter that Lukehart — who was then on probation for felony child abuse — inflicted five fatal blows to Hanshaw’s head, fracturing her skull on Feb. 25, 1996. He then threw the infant’s body in a pond.
At the time, he was reportedly caring for Hanshaw — his girlfriend’s baby — while she tended to her other child who was sick, according to the AP.
Andrew Lukehart initially told his girlfriend that the baby had been kidnapped and that he was pursuing the alleged abductor, the outlet reported. Later that day, he crashed his car, and responding authorities discovered the baby’s body in a pond after he informed them of what he did.
At first, Lukehart told investigators that he dropped Hanshaw on her head, shook her, and then, after realizing she was dead, panicked and threw her body into a pond, Uthmeier wrote in the letter.
Lukehart later testified that the baby would not lay flat as he tried to change her diaper so he “forcefully and repeatedly pushed her head and neck to the floor.”
“The record has been reviewed and there are no stays of execution issued by any court of competent jurisdiction in this cause,” Uthmeier wrote, adding, “the record is legally sufficient to support the issuance of a death warrant.”
During his trial, Lukehart testified he didn’t intend to kill the baby, saying, “If only she hadn’t (dirtied her diaper),” USA Today reported, citing court documents.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Lukehart was the eighth person executed in Florida this year and the 15th nationwide in the U.S.
Man Who Killed Girlfriend’s Infant and Threw Body in Pond Is Executed in Florida
