Dusty Ray Spencer Credit: Florida Department of Corrections
ORLANDO, Fla. - A death warrant has been signed, and an execution date set, for a Florida man convicted of brutally beating, stabbing, and cutting his wife outside their home in Orange County in January 1992.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for 74-year-old Dusty Ray Spencer on Tuesday – more than three decades after the brutal murder.
Barring any last-minute delays, his execution is set for Thursday, June 25, at 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison Complex.
The backstory:
In December 1991, Dusty Spencer was arrested for allegedly choking and threatening to kill his wife, Karen Spencer, according to court records. While in jail, he called his wife and threatened to "finish what he started" once he was released.
On Jan. 4, 1992, Karen's teenage son, Timothy, witnessed Dusty attacking her. He intervened and Dusty allegedly beat him with an icon, records said.
On the morning of Jan. 18, Timothy woke up to the screams of his mother, who was being beaten and repeatedly attacked with a brick in the backyard, records said. He again tried to intervene and was threatened with a knife. He ran to a neighbor's house for help.
Once help arrived, Karen was dead.
Karen had been brutally attacked, stabbed, and cut several times, records said.
Dusty was convicted in November 1992 of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. In 1995, the Supreme Court asked a lower court to reconsider sentencing, which again sentenced him to death.
Florida executions
Seven death row inmates have been executed in 2026, according to Florida State Prison records.
Andrew Lukehart is scheduled to be executed on June 2, followed by Dusty Ray Spencer on June 25.
James A. Duckett was scheduled to be executed on March 31. However, his execution has been stayed due to ongoing DNA analysis.
In 2015, Florida executed 19 people, according to reports.
As of Tuesday, there are 244 people on Florida's death row – 243 men, 1 woman.
The Source: The information used in the article is from court documents and records included in the Governor's Office's signed death warrant via the Florida Supreme Court. Additional information from the Florida Department of Correction's website.