Florida executes 45-year-old inmate for 1984 slaying of state wildlife officer

Fla. executes 45-year-old inmate for 1984 slaying

STARKE, Fla. — Florida has executed 45-year-old Martin Edward Grossman, who was convicted of killing a state wildlife officer during the 1980s.

Governor Charlie Crist’s office said Grossman died at 6:17 p.m. on Tuesday at Florida State Prison.

He was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Margaret “Peggy” Park, a Florida wildlife officer who was shot with her own gun in 1984.

Grossman was the 69th person executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated here in 1979. He was the 25th by lethal injection, the fifth executed under Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the first in 2010.

Park’s family traveled from Ohio to witness the execution.