Andrew Lukehart Executed in Florida for 1996 Murder of 5-Month-Old Gabrielle Hanshaw

Florida executed Andrew Lukehart, 53, Tuesday for the 1996 murder of his girlfriend's infant daughter. It marks the state's eighth execution in 2026.

Florida carries out eighth execution of 2026 for infant murder

Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was executed Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1996 murder of his girlfriend's 5-month-old daughter, ABC News US reports. He received a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m., becoming the eighth person put to death in Florida so far this year.

Lukehart had been convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in 1997 for the killing of Gabrielle Hanshaw. According to court records, he was babysitting Gabrielle in February 1996 at the family's Jacksonville home while his girlfriend tended to her older, ill daughter. He drove away from the home, and the girlfriend could not locate the infant. Lukehart called roughly 30 minutes later, instructing her to contact police and claiming the baby had been kidnapped.

Later that same night, Lukehart was found in a neighboring county after driving his car off the road. During questioning the following day, he told investigators that Gabrielle died after he dropped her on her head and then shook her. He said he panicked and threw the child's body into a pond. Law enforcement searched the pond and recovered Gabrielle's remains.

The Florida Supreme Court denied Lukehart's appeals last week. His attorneys had argued that medication he was taking for kidney disease could interact negatively with the lethal injection drugs, and that the roughly one month between the signing of his death warrant and the scheduled execution date denied him due process. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal on Monday.

Tuesday's execution is the state's eighth of 2026, a pace that follows a record-setting year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw 19 executions in 2025 — more than any Florida governor since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The previous single-year record stood at eight, set in 2014.

Florida led all U.S. states in executions last year. A total of 47 people were put to death across the country in 2025, with Alabama, South Carolina and Texas each recording five — tied for second behind Florida.

All executions in Florida are carried out by lethal injection, using a three-drug protocol consisting of a sedative, a paralytic agent and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Another execution is scheduled in Florida later this month. Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992.

Source: ABC News US