A murderer known as the "ninja killer" has been put to death for the 1989 slayings of a couple in a horror attack.
Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. local time after receiving a lethal injection, the governor's office said.
He was convicted of killing Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on Dec. 20, 1989, in their Flagler County winter home on Florida's northeastern coast.
Gaskin woke up at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday and had his last meal at 9:45 a.m., Department of Corrections spokesperson Kayla McLaughlin Smith said during a news conference.
The meal included BBQ pork ribs, pork and turkey neck, Buffalo wings, shrimp fried rice, french fries and water.
Gaskin, who was dubbed the "ninja killer" because he wore all-black ninja clothing during the crimes, shot his victims with a .22-caliber rifle, investigators said. He was convicted of first-degree murder.
Property that he stole from the Sturmfels' home - a clock, two lamps and a videocassette recorder - was found at his residence and were intended to be Christmas gifts for his girlfriend, according to investigators.
He was also convicted of armed robbery, burglary and the attempted murder that same night of another couple who lived nearby.
Local media reported at the time that Gaskin quickly confessed to the crimes and told a psychologist before his trial that he knew what he was doing.
"The guilt was always there," Gaskin said. "The devil had more of a hold than God did. I knew that I was wrong. I wasn't insane."
Before his execution Gaskin was visited by his sister Wednesday, but he did not meet with a spiritual adviser, McLaughlin Smith said. No relatives of the victims had arranged to be in the witness room during the execution.
This execution came six weeks after Donald Dillbeck, 59, was put to death for the 1990 murder of Faye Vann, 44, in Tallahassee, and three weeks before the scheduled execution of Darryl B. Barwick for slaying Rebecca Wendt, 24, in 1986 in Panama City.
Gaskin's death marked the state's 101st execution since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.
There are an additional 297 people on Florida's death row, which is located at Florida State Prison, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Jacksonville.
Jurors voted 8-4 in 1990 to recommend the death sentence, which the judge accepted. Florida law now requires a unanimous jury vote for capital punishment, although the Legislature could send DeSantis a bill this week that would allow 8-4 jury recommendations for capital punishment.
The state and U.S. supreme courts have rejected appeals Gaskin filed since his death warrant was signed. The latest denial came Tuesday.
