A Florida man convicted of murdering a former co-worker at a Palatka convenience store in 1988 is scheduled for execution next month after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant Tuesday.
Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was found guilty of raping and fatally beating his former manager, Minnie Ruth McCollum after she tried to stop him from breaking into a safe, according to the Associated Press.
He is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 20 at Florida State Prison in Bradford County, although appeals are expected.
According to reports, Randolph tried to crack a safe at the Handy-Way store where he used to work when McCollum caught him in the act and tried to stop him.
The pair struggled before Randolph beat, strangled and raped McCollum, later stealing her car and fleeing the scene.
Several witnesses saw him leaving the area and called police after seeing that the store was in disarray after his departure.
Police found McCollum still alive inside, but she died after six days in a coma.
Randolph was later arrested in Jacksonville and admitted to the crime before leading detectives to bloody clothing belonging to McCollum that he had hid.
He was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death.
Randolph attorneys attempted to overturn the sentence in 2024, arguing that he suffered cruelty at the hands of his adoptive parents and was deserving of life in prison. That effort failed.
A total of 39 people have been executed across the country this year.
