A man who killed a married couple who’d employed him at their medical supply store in Miami was put to death Tuesday in front of witnesses, including the couple’s only daughter.
Victor Tony Jones, 64, was executed by lethal injection 35 years after the murders in a record 13th execution this year in Florida.
Irene Fisher, the couple’s daughter, attended the execution with her two adult daughters and three other family members.
According to an Associated Press report, Jones replied, “No, sir,” when asked if he had any last words, and then the procedure began.
His chest heaved for a few minutes, then reportedly slowed and stopped completely.
An official shook Jones and shouted his name several minutes into the procedure, but there was no response. Jones’ face lost color, and a medic eventually entered the death chamber and declared him dead minutes later, officials said. The execution went through “without complications”.
“After seeing what I saw tonight, I wish my parents had that opportunity to die so gracefully, close your eyes and just go,” Fisher said.
“They were violently killed. My father fought for 20 minutes with a stab wound in his heart, and my mother died instantly in the bathroom on a cold floor.”
Jones first stabbed Dolly Nestor, who was 66, in the neck, then she stabbed Jacob Nestor, 67, in the chest just before Christmas in 1990.
Despite his wounds, Jacob Nestor was able to get to his office before he died, find a pistol, and shoot five times at Jones, hitting him once in the forehead and injuring him.
Police reported finding Jones injured at the scene, carrying the Nestors’ money and personal belongings in his pockets. He was taken to the hospital and later convicted in 1993 of two counts of first-degree murder, receiving a death sentence. The jury also found him guilty of armed robbery.
Fisher reportedly said she had mixed emotions watching the execution, as she had never seen anyone die before.
She added that she was glad it was finally over and that justice had been served.
The building where the Nestor’s medical supply store had been located is now a community center.
“My parents would have loved that because they were always helping people in the community,” Fisher said.
Jones’s legal representatives filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month, based on intellectual disability and claims of abuse he said he suffered as a teenager at a now shut-down state-run reform school.
The court denied the claims, finding the disability issue had already been litigated and that the allegations of abuse had never been presented at trial. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal without comment hours before the execution.
Tuesday’s execution means a total of 34 men have been put to death so far this year in the U.S., and at least eight other people are scheduled to be executed in the rest of 2025.
