Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was executed by lethal injection on June 24 at Florida State Prison for the 1994 rape and murder of 27-year-old Michelle McGrath in Orlando.
McGrath vanished after a night out at Barbarella’s nightclub and was found hours later in a nearby alley. A witness saw Gudinas fleeing the scene. An autopsy confirmed she was sexually assaulted and brutally attacked.
Gudinas was arrested shortly after and sentenced to death in 1995. He spent nearly 30 years on death row. His final words were inaudible, though a state spokesperson said he expressed remorse and referenced Jesus. His only visitor was his mother, and he declined a spiritual advisor.
His last meal was pizza, fries, and soda. It’s unknown if McGrath’s family witnessed the execution. Her father called the crime “a tragic waste” of both lives.
Gudinas was the seventh person executed in Florida this year, the most of any U.S. state in 2025.
Credit: Florida Department of Corrections; Associated Press; The Independent; Metro.