Stephen Vrabel was executed by the State of Ohio for a double murders
According to court documents Stephen Vrabel would fatally shoot his girlfriend and their three year old daughter: Susan Clemente and Lisa Clemente. Vrabel would put the bodies in the fridge and flee. The bodies would be discovered a month later and Vrabel would confess to the murders
Stephen Vrabel would be convicted and sentenced to death
Stephen Vrabel would be executed by lethal injection on July 14 2004
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When Was Stephen Vrabel Executed
Stephen Vrabel was executed on July 14 2004
Stephen Vrabel Case
A man executed Wednesday for killing his girlfriend and their daughter smiled at his sister while strapped to the gurney, after she blew him a kiss and whispered “I love you.” Stephen Vrabel, 47, was pronounced dead eight minutes later, at 10:14 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. He was the second death row inmate since 1999 to drop his appeals to speed his execution.
Authorities said Vrabel shot Susan Clemente, 29, his girlfriend of about four years, and 3-year-old Lisa Clemente in their heads, on March 3, 1989, at their apartment in the Youngstown suburb of Struthers. He had bought the handgun that day.
“I want to thank my sister for all the joy and happiness she brought into Lisa’s life, and I want to apologize to anyone I may have wronged in my life,” Vrabel, speaking in a clear voice, said in his final statement. Vrabel’s sister, Karen Koval, sobbed quietly throughout the execution and leaned on her son, Greg Koval. Susan Clemente’s father, son, two brothers and two brothers-in-law also witnessed the execution. The men were silent and did not show any emotion. After giving his statement, Vrabel began blinking rap idly, and after the drugs took effect, he breathed deeply three times, gasped twice, then took a series of shallow breaths. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times, and then he was still. The execution team had trouble inserting a shunt into Vrabel’s right arm before the execution and finally got it in after several tries.
One of Clemente’s brothers-in-law addressed reporters afterward, joined by 18 other family members and friends. “Susan and Lisa Clemente have finally been put to rest after 15 years of legal battles with the court system. They both can rest in peace now knowing that this nightmare has finally come to an end,” Kenneth Kotouch said, standing near poster-size photographs.
Vrabel never said why he shot Susan Clemente. He said he shot their daughter whom he described Friday as a “perfect child” because she was “freaking out” about her mother’s death and he thought killing her was best because her mother was dead and he was going to jail.
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