Death Row 'cookout killer' William Silvia takes final breath after brutal slaying of estranged wife

This is a breaking news story and is being constantly updated by our reporters as the breaking news story develops

Abigail Hunt Content Editor

23:35, 18 Aug 2026

[The killer took his last breath at Florida State Prison near Starke]

The killer took his last breath at Florida State Prison near Starke(Image: AP Photo/David Fischer)

A cookout killer, infamous for pulling up at a family gathering to get revenge on his estranged wife was executed on Tuesday, marking Florida's 13 kill in its continued aggressive 2026 campaign of the death penalty.

The state executed William Frances Silvia, Jr., 61, by lethal injection, the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) reports. He was pronounced dead at 6.11 pm local time.

"The sentence of the State of Florida v. Inmate William Frances Silvia, Jr. was carried out at 6:11 PM EST", FDOC said in a news release.

William Frances Silvia, 61, received a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at 6pm local time, becoming the 13th prisoner put to death this year in Florida.

All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections. The Sunshine State has carried out more than half of the nation's 22 executions so far in 2026.

[William Frances Silvia has now been executed for the murder]

William Frances Silvia has now been executed for the murder(Image: Florida Department of Corrections.)

Silvia was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for the deadly 2006 attack on Patricia Silvia, along with her mother, Betty Woodard.

According to court records, he purchased a shotgun that year and then went to Woodard's Orlando-area home, where his wife had been living since their separation two months earlier.

The family was in the middle of a cookout when Silvia arrived, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile, authorities said Silvia retrieved the shotgun from his truck and shot the two women, killing his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law.

[Silvia retrieved the shotgun from his truck and shot the two women]

Silvia retrieved the shotgun from his truck and shot the two women(Image: Florida Department of Corrections.)

William Silvia was first sentenced to death following his 2008 trial. A court later vacated that sentence following an appeal related to Florida's death penalty sentencing procedures, but after being granted a new death penalty phase in 2018, he was again sentenced to death.

A Florida state agency, the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, provides legal representation to Death Row inmates. Silvia's attorneys have argued that the agency couldn't provide adequate legal assistance because it was already helping another Death Row inmate. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal.

This modern wave of executions follows a historic preceding year. A total of 47 people were executed in the US in 2025. Florida led the way with 19, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.

Two more executions are planned in Florida next month, as two more executions are scheduled in September. Harold Gene Lucas, 74, is scheduled to die on September 1, followed by Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, on September 10.

Lucas was convicted of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl who rejected his advances and wounding two of her friends.

Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man that he had paid to pose for nude photos, and authorities suspect him of similar homicides committed in the 1990s in southwest Florida.

This is a breaking news story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly with the latest news, pictures and videos.

You can also get email updates on the days biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.

Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following Daily Star every time you see our name.

Follow Daily Star on Android - CLICK HERE

Follow Daily Star on Apple - CLICK HERE

Article continues below

Follow Daily Star on Snapchat - CLICK HERE

You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @starbreaksnews and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.

Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/thedailystar.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.

[Google Preferred Source Badge]

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.