Family of Carmen Gayheart prepares to witness the culmination of decades-long legal process in 1994 murder case
STARKE, FL — Nearly 30 years after the brutal abduction, rape, and murder of 23-year-old Carmen Gayheart in a supermarket parking lot, her killer, Anthony Wainwright, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison.
Wainwright, 54, was convicted in 1995 for the heinous April 1994 crime that shocked the Lake City community and devastated Gayheart’s family. The execution, if carried out as planned, will mark Florida’s sixth this year, tying the number of executions conducted in 2023.
A Crime That Shook a Community
Wainwright and co-defendant Richard Hamilton escaped from a North Carolina prison in April 1994. According to court documents, they stole a Cadillac, burglarized a home, and drove into Florida. When their stolen vehicle broke down in Lake City, they approached Gayheart — a young mother and community college student — in a grocery store parking lot.
They forced her into her Ford Bronco at gunpoint, sexually assaulted her in the backseat, and later shot her twice in the head after a failed attempt to strangle her. They dragged her body away from the road and fled. The next day, both men were apprehended in Mississippi following a shootout with police.
“She Was Loved”: A Family’s Long Journey
For Carmen’s sister, Maria David, the execution is the end of a painful chapter. “She was here, she mattered, she should be remembered, and she was loved,” David told The Associated Press.
David has kept a record of every legal filing in a binder, preserving nearly three decades of court proceedings. “I’m looking forward to getting the last pieces of paperwork that say he’s been executed to put into the book and never having to think about Anthony Wainwright ever again,” she said.
David will attend the execution. “There’s nothing that would keep me from seeing this all the way through,” she added.
Her sister, who had aspirations of becoming a veterinarian but instead trained as a nurse, was known for her deep love of animals and her patient care for her children.
Legal Roadblocks and Final Appeals
Wainwright was unanimously sentenced to death by a jury in 1995. His co-defendant, Hamilton, was also sentenced to death but died in prison in 2023 before facing execution.
Over the years, Wainwright’s legal team pursued multiple appeals. Most recently, they argued that his execution should be halted due to alleged systemic failures in the trial process, including the late disclosure of DNA evidence, misleading jury instructions, and the use of jailhouse informants who only recently admitted they testified in exchange for reduced sentences.
A petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court last week contended that Wainwright suffered from intellectual disability and brain damage — arguments that have been central to multiple appeals. The Court denied his final motions without comment on Monday.
Broader Context of Capital Punishment
Wainwright’s scheduled execution is one of four across the U.S. this week. Another is set to take place in Alabama on the same day. A separate execution in Oklahoma was paused Monday after a judge issued a temporary stay.
Florida’s use of the death penalty has gained renewed national attention in recent years. Governor Ron DeSantis has prioritized speeding up executions, signing multiple death warrants in 2024 and 2025, amid ongoing legal scrutiny over the fairness and efficacy of capital punishment.
