Richard Knight died by lethal injection Thursday for the killings of Odessia Stephens and Hanessia Mullings.
STARKE, Fla. — Richard Knight was executed Thursday after courts declined to stop his death sentence for the fatal stabbings of a Broward County woman and her 4-year-old daughter more than 20 years ago.
Knight, 47, died at 6:13 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke after receiving a three-drug lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal without comment earlier in the day, clearing the way for Florida’s seventh execution of 2026.
The death sentence came from the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and Hanessia Mullings in Coral Springs. Court records said Knight had been staying with his cousin, Stephens and the child. Tension in the home centered on whether Knight could continue living there. Records said Stephens told him one evening that he would need to leave the next morning. Knight then stabbed Stephens multiple times and attacked the child, prosecutors said.
Inside the death chamber Thursday, Knight was already restrained when witnesses were allowed to view the procedure. The warden asked whether he wanted to make a final statement. Knight thanked “Yahweh” and said he was “the most high.” Officials then began the injection. Knight showed little movement as the drugs entered his system. A medic checked him about 10 minutes later, and the state announced his death soon afterward.
Evidence in the case included court records showing Knight made statements about the killings while jailed in Broward County. An inmate testified at trial that Knight had confessed while the two were in custody. Knight was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 2006. His case then moved through years of state and federal review before the final appeal was rejected Thursday.
Family members said the execution did not erase the loss. Hans Mullings, who was Stephens’ boyfriend and Hanessia’s father, witnessed the death and told reporters the family still grieves. “The pain never leaves,” Mullings said. Stephens’ relatives said in a written statement that the execution closed a long chapter and allowed them to focus on honoring Odessia and Hanessia.
The execution came during one of Florida’s most active death penalty periods in decades. The state carried out a record 19 executions in 2025 under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida officials have said executions are conducted by lethal injection using three drugs: one to sedate, one to paralyze and one to stop the heart.
Florida is preparing for another execution on June 2, when Andrew Richard Lukehart is scheduled to die for the 1996 killing of his girlfriend’s infant daughter. Knight’s execution remained complete as of Friday, with no further court action pending in his case.
Author note: Last updated May 22, 2026.