Dennis Sochor, 74, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday at Florida State Prison, making him the oldest inmate to be put to death in the state's history.
The execution, slated for 6 p.m., will be carried out via a three-drug injection. Sochor has been on death row since the 1980s for the first-degree murder and kidnapping of 18-year-old Patricia Gifford.
Sochor met Gifford on New Year's Day in 1982 at a bar in the Fort Lauderdale area, where she was celebrating. He was with his brother at the time. The group spent time together, and Gifford left with Sochor and his brother for breakfast. According to investigators, Sochor then drove his truck to a secluded area and asked Gifford if she wanted to have sex, which she refused. He then attacked her.
Sochor was arrested in 1986 on unrelated charges and extradited to Florida. During that time, he confessed to choking Gifford and disposing of her body. Her remains have never been found. His brother informed authorities that Sochor was responsible for Gifford's disappearance.
In 1987, a jury found Sochor guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping, and he was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court recently denied his appeal, clearing the way for his execution. While Sochor will be the oldest inmate executed in Florida, another 80-year-old prisoner is scheduled for execution later in July.
