In the weeks leading up to her murder, Karen Spencer’s husband violently attacked her twice and promised to finish what he started from prison. Now Florida is about to execute Dusty Ray Spencer.
Tennessee to execute woman for first time in 200 years
If Christa Pike is executed, she will be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in 200 years and the 19th woman in modern U.S. history.
This story talks about domestic violence. If you or a loved one is suffering from domestic violence or an abusive relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233).) Or visit www.thehotline.org. Callers can remain anonymous.
Less than a month before he brutally stabbed and bludgeoned his wife to death in front of their terrified teenage son, Dusty Ray Spencer called her from a Florida prison and promised her he would finish what he started when he got out, according to court records.
Two weeks before Christmas 1991, Spencer was being held in the Orange County Jail. He was jailed because, in a fit of rage, he covered Karen’s nose and mouth with one hand and strangled her with the other, according to court records and archived news reports.
Within days of Spencer’s arrest, a judge set his bail at just $5,000 and he was released.
On January 18, 1992, Spencer kept his promise to Karen. He returned to her home and brutally stabbed and beat her in front of her son. Now, 34 years later, Florida is scheduled to execute Spencer on Thursday, June 25th.
The Florida Attorney General’s Office said in court records that executions “have been a given for many years.” Meanwhile, Spencer’s lawyers are fighting over the method of execution, with other supporters arguing that the 74-year-old is now a “sick old man” and should be spared.
Here’s what you need to know about this case and how it forever changed the way Orange County approaches domestic violence.
When will the execution take place?
The state of Florida is scheduled to execute Dusty Ray Spencer by lethal injection on Thursday, June 25th at 6pm ET at the state prison in Lyford.
What was Dusty Ray Spencer convicted of?
According to court records, on January 18, 1992, Karen Spencer’s son, 40, was sleeping when he heard her screaming.
A 17-year-old boy frantically followed his mother’s voice until he found her in the backyard with his stepfather, Dusty Ray Spencer. According to court records, the boy witnessed Spencer hit his mother in the head with a brick.
The boy runs and gets a shotgun to shoot Spencer, but it jams. Spencer then struck Cullen in the head with the gun, breaking the butt, but Spencer continued to attack, slamming Cullen’s head into the concrete of the house, according to an archived Orlando Sentinel report.
“All I saw was blood. She was covered in blood,” the boy testified at Spencer’s trial, according to the newspaper. “He kept saying my mother wasted her life.”
The boy tried to pick up his mother to carry her to safety, but Spencer attacked them with a knife. The boy ran for help. By the time police arrived, Spencer had fled and Karen had bled to death. Court records say the injuries were catastrophic, including head trauma, two stab wounds to the chest and deep cuts to the face and arms.
Spencer’s lawyer argued at trial that the murder was an unplanned crime of passion, but prosecutors argued that Spencer intentionally and painfully killed Karen.
“He didn’t just go there to kill her,” prosecutor Dorothy Sedgwick told jurors, according to the Sentinel. “He went there to make her feel it.”
The jury found Spencer guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and both aggravated assault and aggravated assault for the injuries to Ms. Cullen’s son. The jury recommended the death penalty in a 7-5 vote.
On direct appeal, the Florida Supreme Court reversed the death sentence and remanded the case for reconsideration of the trial court’s treatment of the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case. Spencer was executed in an outrage in 1996.
domestic violence laws
Like most victims of domestic violence, this was not Karen Spencer’s first attack at the hands of her husband.
The first attack on his wife by Dusty Ray Spencer took place on December 10, 1991, when he began choking her and threatened to kill her. “When I get out, I’m going to finish what I started,” the defendant told Karen Spencer in a phone call from prison, according to court records.
Spencer was briefly jailed for the assault, but was released on $5,000 bail despite repeatedly threatening to kill his wife.
On January 4, 1992, Spencer attacked Karen again, hitting her in the face with an iron until her 17-year-old son found her and intervened. Detectives did not arrest Spencer at the time because they could not find him, but Karen gave a tip as to where he might be, according to court records and archived news reports.
The fatal attack occurred 16 days later.
Karen Spencer’s murder showed how the criminal justice system can ignore victims of domestic violence and brought attention to the crisis in Orange County. According to a 1992 report in the Orlando Sentinel, arrests and prosecutions for domestic violence cases increased by 80 percent after her death.
In the years that followed, the Florida Legislature strengthened domestic violence laws and penalties, including making threats of violence a first-degree misdemeanor, requiring law enforcement to provide details on why arrests were not made, and requiring those accused of domestic violence to make an initial court appearance before being released on bail, as reported by Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network.
When is the next execution?
The next scheduled execution in the United States is that of Dennis Sochol in Florida on July 14th. Sochol was convicted of raping and strangling 18-year-old Patricia Gifford after he met her at a New Year’s party in 1981.
Contributed by CA Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter covering capital punishment, cold cases and breaking news for USA TODAY. Follow @amandaleeusat on X.
