Killer’s final four-words before being executed for ‘cruel’ murder | US | News
McGill, 63, was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. MST on Wednesday. (Image: undefined)
Arizona executed convicted murderer Leroy Dean McGill by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2002 slaying of a man who was set on fire in a Phoenix apartment in what prosecutors described as a “particularly cruel” attack.
McGill, 63, was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. MST on Wednesday; This was the state’s first execution of 2026.
Authorities discovered that McGill poured gasoline on Charles Perez and Perez’s girlfriend, Nova Banta, while they were sitting on a couch in an apartment, and then set the fuel on fire with a match. While Perez died due to his injuries, Banta survived the attack with serious burns.
Prosecutors said McGill accused the couple of stealing a gun before carrying out the brutal attack. Another person in the apartment escaped injury and helped Banta after the fire broke out. McGill was convicted on a number of charges in October 2004 after less than an hour of jury deliberation.
Those convictions included murder for Perez’s death and attempted murder for the attack on Banta. He was also found guilty of arson and endangering residents, who were forced to flee both the flat and an adjoining unit as the flames spread, but they all escaped unharmed.
Despite compelling evidence from McGill’s legal team of his mental impairment and psychological immaturity, as well as the abuse he suffered during childhood, the jury ultimately imposed the death penalty.
Read more: He brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend and her young daughter, then received the lethal injection
Read more: Florida executes murderer who stabbed 70-year-old woman to death 39 years later
Having exhausted all avenues of appeal in 2022, Arizona issued a warrant for his execution earlier this year.
“Today, by order of the Arizona Supreme Court, the state of Arizona carried out the death penalty of Leroy McGill by lethal injection here at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence,” Arizona Department of Corrections Deputy Warden John Marcello confirmed at the press conference.
He also revealed: “Mr McGill’s last meal consisted of onion rings, bread and butter, chocolate cake, cottage pie and a green salad.”
Marcello added: “Mr. McGill chose to have a spiritual advisor with him throughout this process.”
Josh Kelety of the Associated Press also took to the podium and revealed that McGill’s last words were “I’ll be going home soon.”
Kelety went on to explain further: “At 10:13, I observed deep breathing. At 10:13, it made a sound like snoring. At 10:13, the second green light turned on, and at 10:14, the snoring sound stopped.”
The stretcher used for lethal injections stands behind glass windows (Image: AP)
When asked by reporters, Kelety said, “I can’t talk about whether he felt pain.” He also noted that “some people appeared to be crying” in the room, although he could not confirm their identities.
This execution was the first in Arizona this year. The state resumed executions in 2022 after an eight-year hiatus due to difficulties in securing lethal injection drugs and a review of executions that were delayed in 2014.
There are currently over 100 inmates on death row in Arizona.
