Death row killer claims murder was 'an accident' in final words before execution
A Florida man convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and severely wounding his mother-in-law was put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday evening.
William Frances Silvia, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. The execution marks the 13th carried out in the state this year, continuing Florida's accelerated pace of capital punishment.
Silvia was already strapped to a gurney with an intravenous line in his arm when the curtain separating the execution chamber from the witness viewing area opened at 6:00 p.m.
A priest sat at his feet in prayer while Silvia remained largely motionless with his eyes and mouth open as the three-drug cocktail was administered.
Advert
When asked by officials if he wished to make a final statement from the gurney, Silvia offered a brief apology: "I'm sorry all this happened. It was an accident. I never meant to hurt her."
Several minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing, a warden stepped forward, shook Silvia, and shouted his name to check for consciousness.
Receiving no response, medical personnel examined him and formally declared him dead shortly after.
The 2006 Crime and Legal Battles
Silvia was sentenced to death following his conviction for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in connection with the deadly 2006 ambush of his estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, and her mother, Betty Woodard.
Court records show that Silvia purchased a shotgun in 2006 and traveled to Woodard’s Orlando-area residence, where Patricia had been staying following their separation two months prior.
The family was in the middle of an outdoor cookout when Silvia arrived. Following an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile, authorities said Silvia walked back to his truck, retrieved the firearm, and shot both women.
Silvia was originally sentenced to death in 2008. While that initial sentence was later vacated following legal appeals concerning state sentencing procedures, he was resentenced to death during a new penalty phase in 2018.
In recent appeals, attorneys argued that state public defenders could not adequately represent him due to concurrent casework with another death row inmate, though the Florida Supreme Court rejected the petition.
Just hours before his execution on Tuesday, a final last ditch appeal for a stay of execution was rejected by both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Victim's Family Break Silence
Pamela Wyatt, Patricia Silvia’s sister broke her silence on Tuesday and said William Frances Silvia’s actions not only took her sister’s life but changed the lives of everyone who loved her.
“Nothing that happens today can give us those stolen years. No execution can return Patricia to her children and give her the grandchildren she dreamed of knowing,” Wyatt said after the execution.
“But today can be an opportunity to remember that Patricia’s life was bigger than the terrible act that ended it.”
Florida's Execution Pace
Silvia’s execution continues a sharp rise in capital punishment across Florida.
Out of 47 executions carried out across the United States in 2025, Florida accounted for 19—the highest annual total in the state since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.
So far in 2026, Florida has conducted 13 of the nation's 23 executions.
Two further executions are currently scheduled in the state for September.
Phoebe Tonks