Bennie Demps

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Bennie Eddie Demps
Born(1950-06-17)June 17, 1950[1]
Florida, U.S.
DiedJune 7, 2000(2000-06-07) (aged 49)
Florida State Prison, Florida, U.S.
Criminal statusExecution by lethal injection
ConvictionsFirst-degree murder (x3)
Aggravated assault
Criminal penalty
Details
Victims3
DateFebruary 15, 1971 – September 7, 1976
LocationFlorida
Imprisoned atFlorida State Prison

Bennie Eddie Demps (June 17, 1950 – June 7, 2000) was an American serial killer and Vietnam War veteran convicted of three murders committed between 1971 and 1976. On February 15, 1971, Demps and a 16-year-old accomplice Jackie Hardie shot and killed Robert Brinkworth and Celia Puhlick, and for this double murder, Demps and Hardie were both sentenced to death, but in 1973, their death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment due to the U.S. Supreme Court suspending the death penalty in a 1972 landmark ruling. Four years later, on September 7, 1976, Demps and two other prisoners stabbed and killed a fellow inmate Alfred Sturgis at Florida State Prison. As the death penalty was reinstated in Florida just two months before Sturgis's killing, Demps was found guilty and sentenced to death a second time for this offence, while the other two prisoners, James Jackson and Harry Mungin, were given additional life sentences for the same case. Demps was eventually executed by lethal injection on June 7, 2000.[2]

1971 Eustis Car Trunk murders

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On February 15, 1971, 20-year-old Bennie Eddie Demps, then a Vietnam War veteran, held three people hostage and shot all three of them, killing two as a result. The case became known as the "Eustis Car Trunk murders".[3][4]

On that day itself, Demps and his 16-year-old accomplice, Jackie Hardie (January 21, 1954 – January 26, 1999), robbed an old man of his automobile, as well as stealing weapons and a safe from a private home in Mount Dora, and they later moved to an orange grove near Eustis, Florida, where they struggled to open the safe. At the same time, 54-year-old real estate dealer Robert Brinkworth was showing a tract of land to an elderly couple from Connecticut, Nicholas and Cecelia "Celia" Puhlick, who planned to find a house and plant oranges for retirement. The trio happened to encounter both Demps and Hardie trying to force the safe open while they walked around the area.[5][4]

Both Demps and Hardie brandished their guns (an AK-47 and a handgun) and held the trio at gunpoint, forcing them to get inside a car trunk, but not before shooting Celia in the stomach. After the trio got inside the car trunk and took several hundred dollars from the victims, both Demps and Hardie fired multiple shots in the trunk while the lid was still open. Brinkworth and 64-year-old Celia died of multiple gunshot wounds, while 62-year-old Nicholas survived by playing dead in spite of the gunshot wound on his arm.[4][5]

After murdering Robert Brinkworth and Celia Puhlick, both Demps and Hardie fled to New Jersey. On February 18, 1971, the pair and a 18-year-old girl were arrested in New Jersey as fugitives wanted for the double murder.[6] They were later extradited back to Florida to face charges for the Eustis Car Trunk murders.[7][8] The girl, Hermenia Theresa Braxton, was later cleared of the murder charges and released, after it was found she had an alibi of being at home based on witnesses' testimonies.[9]

First trial and sentencing

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After their arrests, both Bennie Demps and Jackie Hardie were charged with the murders of Celia Puhlick and Robert Brinkworth, and the attempted murder of Nicholas Puhlick. The trial was carried out on June 21, 1971, in the circuit court of St. Augustine, after the venue was changed from Lake County due to the publicity of the case.[10][11] Reportedly, Demps offered a defence that he did not shoot the victims and he walked off when Hardie allegedly carried out the shootings alone, while Hardie claimed he was under the influence of an older man in the course of the murders.[12]

On July 2, 1971, the jury found both Jackie Hardie and Bennie Demps guilty of both counts of murdering Celia Puhlick and Robert Brinkworth in the first degree.[13] The offence of first-degree murder carried the death penalty.[14]

On the same date of their convictions, both Hardie and Demps were sentenced to death for both counts of first-degree murder, in addition to 20 years each for attempted murder.[15][16]

On February 28, 1973, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the convictions of Hardie and Demps, but they lowered the pair's death sentences to two consecutive life sentences, in accordance to the 1972 landmark ruling of Furman v. Georgia by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the death penalty was being arbitrarily applied in the United States.[5]

Nearly 26 years after the commutation of his death sentence, Hardie died of unknown causes in prison on January 26, 1999.[17]

Murder of Alfred Sturgis

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On September 7, 1976, four years after he was removed from death row, Bennie Demps committed a third murder, which ultimately led to his second and final death sentence.

On that fateful day, Demps and two other prisoners, Harry Mungin (born July 20, 1949) and James Jackson (born November 27, 1952), attacked a 23-year-old fellow inmate named Alfred Sturgis (January 12, 1953 – September 7, 1976) for allegedly being a snitch. Sturgis, who was serving a life sentence for both escape and second-degree murder charges, was reportedly being held down by both Demps and Mungin while Jackson used a home-made knife to stab Sturgis several times.[18] At the time of Sturgis's stabbing, Jackson was serving a jail term of six months to 15 years for robbery and firearm possession, while Mungin was serving 50 years' imprisonment for robbery.[19]

Sturgis, who was mortally wounded, was found by correctional officers inside a cell and subsequently rushed to the prison hospital of Union Correctional Institution, and later transferred to the Reception and Medical Center (RMC). However, due to inadequate facilities at both institutions, Sturgis was transferred to the Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville. However, Sturgis died shortly after being admitted there. Before he died, Sturgis told one of the prison officers that Demps and Mungin restrained him while Jackson stabbed him, naming them as the three attackers. Larry Hathaway, another prisoner, testified that he seen the trio attacking and knifing Sturgis. Similarly, Sturgis's best friend Arthur Copeland, a former death row inmate serving life plus 50 years for the robbery-murder of a deaf-mute man, heard Sturgis naming Jackson, Mungin and Demps as the people attacking him.[18][20]

Second trial and sentence

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After their arrests, Bennie Demps, Harry Mungin and James Jackson were all charged with the first-degree murder of Alfred Sturgis, and this was the second time Demps faced the death penalty, which was reinstated just two months before the killing upon the 1976 landmark ruling of Gregg v. Georgia.[18]

The trial of Demps, who was tried together with Jackson and Mungin, was held in early 1978. During the trial itself, Larry Hathaway, the prisoner who witnessed the stabbing, was called to court as a witness, but the defence tried to impeach his credibility, arguing that Hathaway was a homosexual and he concocted the testimony to frame the trio in exchange for negotiating a transfer to the prison where his lover, Robert Ziegler, was incarcerated. However, the court ruled against the defence and found it irrelevant for the trial.[21]

On March 16, 1978, the jury found the trio guilty of first-degree murder.[22] On the same date of their convictions, the jury recommended life imprisonment for Mungin, while they selected the death penalty for both Demps and Jackson, and the trial judge, Circuit Judge Wayne Carlisie, was slated to formally sentence the trio on a later date.[19]

On April 17, 1978, Demps was sentenced to death for the murder of Alfred Sturgis, marking his second death sentence. Jackson and Mungin were both sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the killing of Sturgis.[23][24]

As of 2025, Mungin and Jackson are incarcerated at the Northwest Florida Reception Center and the Martin Correctional Institution respectively.[25][26]

Appeals

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On January 8, 1981, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed Bennie Demps's appeal.[21][27][28]

Demps's execution date was originally set for June 29, 1982.[29] On June 8, 1982, Demps's appeal for a stay of execution was denied by Bradford County Circuit Judge Wayne Carlisie.[30] On June 24, 1982, the Florida Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Demps.[31]

On December 20, 1984, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Demps's appeal and vacated the stay order.[32][33]

On December 2, 1986, Demps's federal appeal was denied by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.[34][35]

On October 6, 1987, Demps's appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.[36]

Subsequently, a new death warrant was again signed for Demps, scheduling him to be executed on November 5, 1987. On November 4, 1987, the eve of Demps's scheduled execution, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed another appeal from Demps and refused to stay his execution.[37][38] On that same day, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Demps's request to delay his execution.[39]

On March 28, 1989, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Demps's appeal.[40]

On June 13, 1989, another appeal from Demps was denied by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.[41]

A year later, Demps was issued a new execution date of May 9, 1990,[42] but two days before it was slated to proceed, Demps was again spared from execution after the Florida Supreme Court granted another stay of execution.[43]

On April 9, 1998, Demps's appeal for a writ of habeas corpus was rejected by the Florida Supreme Court.[18]

Execution

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On April 25, 2000, Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed a new death warrant for Bennie Demps, scheduling his death sentence to be carried out on May 31, 2000.[44] However, the date was rescheduled to June 7, 2000, which was ten days away from Demps's 50th birthday.[45] As of June 2000, the same month when Demps was slated to be executed, he was among 370 inmates incarcerated on death row in Florida.[46]

In a final attempt to evade execution, Demps filed last-minute appeals to delay his execution. Demps's first appeal was heard by Circuit Judge Robert Cates, but the appeal itself was denied on May 13, 2000.[47] Demps further appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, but the court rejected the appeal on May 23, 2000.[48] Demps would file another appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, but it was rejected on June 5, 2000.[49]

On June 7, 2000, 49-year-old Bennie Eddie Demps was put to death by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison. This marked the state's third lethal injection execution since 1999.[50][51] A few hours after Demps was executed, the state of Oklahoma executed Roger James Berget for the 1985 murder of a school teacher.[52]

According to reports, while strapped to the gurney, Demps exclaimed to witnesses and his lawyer that he was being "butchered" by prison officers and accused them of cutting him in the leg and groin. Prison officials refuted Demps's allegations and stated there was no problem with the procedure as the executioners were only trying to find a suitable vein, but the delay led to the execution taking less than an hour to be finally carried out, and Demps's was pronounced dead at 6:53pm.[53][54] Demps's last words were reportedly, "This is not an execution, this is murder. I am an innocent man." For his last meal, Demps ordered barbecued chicken and beef, french fries, dinner salad, Spanish rice, rolls, cherry vanilla and butter pecan ice cream, a mango, banana pudding and Pepsi.[55]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Corrections Offender Network – DEMPS, BENNIE". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "Inmate continues to assert innocence". Tampa Bay Times. June 7, 2000.
  3. ^ "2 Persons Shot to Death While Locked in Car Trunk". The New York Times. February 17, 1971.
  4. ^ a b c "CAR TRUNK MURDERS ALSO SHOCKED EUSTIS". Orlando Sentinel. February 21, 1993.
  5. ^ a b c Demps v. State [1973], Florida Supreme Court (United States).
  6. ^ "3 youths held in murders". The Day. February 19, 1971.
  7. ^ "Three waive extradition from N.J.". The Day. February 25, 1971.
  8. ^ "Extradition waived by 3 in Fla. deaths". Meriden Journal. February 26, 1971.
  9. ^ "Girl, 18, released in murder charge". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 31, 1971.
  10. ^ "Trial Opens In Trunk Murders". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 22, 1971.
  11. ^ "Tavares Trunk Murder Case Gets Underway". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. June 22, 1971.
  12. ^ "'TRUNK MURDERS' KILLER FACES EXECUTION". Orlando Sentinel. May 29, 2000.
  13. ^ "Pair Guilty In Trunk Deaths". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. July 3, 1971.
  14. ^ "Two Youths Found Guilty In Auto Murder". St. Petersburg Times. July 3, 1971.
  15. ^ "Automatic appeal set for young murderers". Waycross Journal-Herald. July 3, 1971.
  16. ^ "Appeals Set in murders". Times Daily. July 3, 1971.
  17. ^ "Corrections Offender Network – HARDIE, JACKIE". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d Demps v. Dugger [1998], Florida Supreme Court (United States).
  19. ^ a b "Jury recommends death for prisoner from Ocala". Ocala Star-Banner. March 18, 1978.
  20. ^ "Florida State Prison". The Evening Independent. April 13, 1977.
  21. ^ a b Demps v. State [1981], Florida Supreme Court (United States).
  22. ^ "Inmates guilty of murder". Lakeland Ledger. March 18, 1978.
  23. ^ "Man On Death Row Again". Ocala-Star Banner. April 18, 1978.
  24. ^ "Sentence of death". St. Petersburg Times. April 18, 1978.
  25. ^ "Corrections Offender Network – MUNGIN, HARRY L JR". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  26. ^ "Corrections Offender Network – JACKSON, JAMES". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  27. ^ "Death sentence upheld by court". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. January 9, 1981.
  28. ^ "High court rules on pot, death cases". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. January 9, 1981.
  29. ^ "Two killers seek execution stays". Boca Raton News. June 11, 1982.
  30. ^ "FSP inmate denied stay of execution". Gainesville Sun. June 9, 1982.
  31. ^ "Both inmates scheduled to die Tuesday win stays". St. Petersburg Times. June 9, 1982.
  32. ^ Demps v. State [1984], Florida Supreme Court (United States).
  33. ^ "State justices uphold Demps' death sentence". Gainesville Sun. December 21, 1984.
  34. ^ Demps v. Wainwright [1986], 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (United States).
  35. ^ "Florida death row inmate's murder conviction is upheld". Ocala Star-Banner. December 19, 1986.
  36. ^ "Supreme Court rejects pleas; refuses to hear arguments". Ocala Star-Banner. October 6, 1987.
  37. ^ Demps v. State [1987], Florida Supreme Court (United States).
  38. ^ "Judge rejects stay of Execution for Demps". Ocala Star-Banner. November 4, 1987.
  39. ^ "Court stops murderer's execution". Lodi News-Sentinel. November 5, 1987.
  40. ^ "Court denies in mate's appeal". Gainesville Sun. May 24, 2000.
  41. ^ Demps v. Dugger [1989], 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (United States).
  42. ^ "Martinez signs 2 warrants". Gainesville Sun. April 19, 1990.
  43. ^ "'Smiling' killer wins death stay". Gainesville Sun. May 8, 1990.
  44. ^ "Bush sets inmate's execution date". Tampa Bay Times. April 25, 2000.
  45. ^ "Demps gets week delay". Gainesville Sun. May 28, 2000.
  46. ^ "OTHER LAKE, SUMTER KILLERS AWAIT FATE ON DEATH ROW". Orlando Sentinel. June 7, 2000.
  47. ^ "Death row prisoner's bid for hearing rejected". Gainesville Sun. May 13, 2000.
  48. ^ "Top court rejects killer's petition". Lakeland Ledger. May 24, 2000.
  49. ^ Demps v. State [2000], Florida Supreme Court (United States).
  50. ^ "Florida death row inmate executed". UPI. June 7, 2000.
  51. ^ "Convicted killer faces death after 29 years on death row". Lakeland Ledger. June 7, 2000.
  52. ^ "2 inmates executed — one in Florida, one in Oklahoma". The Deseret News. June 8, 2000.
  53. ^ "Botched injection delays execution". The Guardian. June 10, 2000.
  54. ^ "Inmate claims injection bungled". Tampa Bay Times. June 10, 2000.
  55. ^ "MURDERER SAYS HE'S INNOCENT TO THE END". Orlando Sentinel. June 8, 2000.