Florida
Man who killed his girlfriend’s baby and threw the body in a pond is executed
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who confessed to killing his girlfriend’s infant daughter and throwing her body in a pond three decades ago was executed Tuesday evening.
Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in 1997 for the death a year earlier of 5-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw.
When the curtain of the execution chamber went up at 6 p.m., Lukehart was already strapped to a table with an IV in his arm. A priest sat at the foot of the table to pray over him as he died.
When a warden asked Lukehart if he had a final statement, he raised his head to look at a group in the front row of the viewing area and said, “I’m sorry.”
Lukehart then recited the Bible verse Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” which Scripture says Jesus Christ uttered during his crucifixion.
Lukehart lost consciousness almost immediately after the administration of the lethal drugs began. Several minutes into the execution, the warden shook Lukehart and shouted his name, but there was no reaction.
A medic was called in to check his vital signs, and he was declared dead several minutes later.
Lukehart declined a last meal and did not receive any visitors before the execution, though he did meet with a spiritual adviser, Department of Corrections spokesperson Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference.
This was Florida’s eighth execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
According to court records, Lukehart was watching his girlfriend’s baby in February 1996 while his girlfriend was caring for her older daughter, who had been ill. At some point, the girlfriend said Lukehart drove away from their Jacksonville home, and she couldn’t find baby Gabrielle. Lukehart called his girlfriend about 30 minutes later and told her to call police because the baby had been kidnapped and he was chasing the kidnapper.
Later that evening, Lukehart was found in a neighboring county after driving his car off the road. During questioning the next day, Lukehart told investigators that Gabrielle died after he dropped the baby on her head and then shook her. He told police that he panicked and threw the baby in a pond. Law enforcement officers searched the pond and found the child’s body.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s appeals last week. His attorneys had claimed that medication he was taking for kidney disease could have a negative reaction with the lethal injection drugs. They also argued that having only a month between the signing of Lukehart’s death warrant and the execution deprived him of his due process.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s final appeal Monday.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.
Another execution is planned in Florida later this month. Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Wisconsin
Josh Jacobs practicing with Packers while prosecutors consider whether to file charges
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs is practicing with the Packers while prosecutors consider whether to file charges against the three-time Pro Bowl running back following his arrest on domestic abuse allegations.
Jacobs was on the field Tuesday for the Packers’ second week of organized team activities. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said before Tuesday’s practice that Jacobs’ situation hasn’t caused distractions.
Jacobs was arrested May 26 in Brown County, Wisconsin, on allegations of strangulation and suffocation and other offenses. Hobart/Lawrence Police Chief Michael Renkas said police had been dispatched to a complaint involving Jacobs on the
morning of May 23.
Jacobs has issued a statement through his lawyers saying he “vehemently denies the allegations.” He was released from a Wisconsin jail Wednesday during the Packers’ first week of OTAs while authorities investigated the case.
District Attorney David Lasee said it’s too soon to make a formal charging decision.
“Our office has requested additional investigation, as there is reason to believe that additional evidence may exist that would impact whether criminal charges are appropriate, and what charges would be issued. ... The investigation remains open and is ongoing,” Lasee said last week.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney indicated this wasn’t Jacobs’ first day back with the team since the arrest. This was only the second OTA practice that was open to the media. The first such workout occurred Wednesday, when Jacobs was getting released from jail and therefore wasn’t practicing.
Jacobs wasn’t in the locker room during the Packers’ media availability after Tuesday’s practice, but quarterback Jordan Love discussed how the team has addressed the situation.
“We’ve talked internally,” Love said. “Everyone knows what the situation is there and we’ve talked, but obviously the details, everybody’s keeping that under wraps right now just out of respect for the situation and obviously all the legal stuff that’s going to be playing out. But it’s great to have Josh here with us, being able to work with us and get back to work.”
Love was asked if he has considered the possibility the Packers might not have Jacobs for at least part of the upcoming season.
“There’s always questions,” Love said. “I was shocked when I saw it, and like I said, it’s one of those things we’re going to let it play out. There’s a lot of uncertainty when you hear something like that of what might happen. But we’ll see, we’ll let it play out and go from there.”
Jacobs rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. The Packers have nobody else on their roster who ran for as many as 200 yards for them a year ago.
That followed a 2024 season in which Jacobs ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns while earning his third Pro Bowl selection.
Jacobs, 28, has rushed for 7,803 yards and 74 touchdowns in his seven-year career, which included five seasons with the Raiders. He earned All-Pro honors and had an NFL-leading 1,653 yards rushing with Las Vegas in 2022.
Man who killed his girlfriend’s baby and threw the body in a pond is executed
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who confessed to killing his girlfriend’s infant daughter and throwing her body in a pond three decades ago was executed Tuesday evening.
Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in 1997 for the death a year earlier of 5-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw.
When the curtain of the execution chamber went up at 6 p.m., Lukehart was already strapped to a table with an IV in his arm. A priest sat at the foot of the table to pray over him as he died.
When a warden asked Lukehart if he had a final statement, he raised his head to look at a group in the front row of the viewing area and said, “I’m sorry.”
Lukehart then recited the Bible verse Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” which Scripture says Jesus Christ uttered during his crucifixion.
Lukehart lost consciousness almost immediately after the administration of the lethal drugs began. Several minutes into the execution, the warden shook Lukehart and shouted his name, but there was no reaction.
A medic was called in to check his vital signs, and he was declared dead several minutes later.
Lukehart declined a last meal and did not receive any visitors before the execution, though he did meet with a spiritual adviser, Department of Corrections spokesperson Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference.
This was Florida’s eighth execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
According to court records, Lukehart was watching his girlfriend’s baby in February 1996 while his girlfriend was caring for her older daughter, who had been ill. At some point, the girlfriend said Lukehart drove away from their Jacksonville home, and she couldn’t find baby Gabrielle. Lukehart called his girlfriend about 30 minutes later and told her to call police because the baby had been kidnapped and he was chasing the kidnapper.
Later that evening, Lukehart was found in a neighboring county after driving his car off the road. During questioning the next day, Lukehart told investigators that Gabrielle died after he dropped the baby on her head and then shook her. He told police that he panicked and threw the baby in a pond. Law enforcement officers searched the pond and found the child’s body.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s appeals last week. His attorneys had claimed that medication he was taking for kidney disease could have a negative reaction with the lethal injection drugs. They also argued that having only a month between the signing of Lukehart’s death warrant and the execution deprived him of his due process.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s final appeal Monday.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.
Another execution is planned in Florida later this month. Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Wisconsin
Josh Jacobs practicing with Packers while prosecutors consider whether to file charges
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs is practicing with the Packers while prosecutors consider whether to file charges against the three-time Pro Bowl running back following his arrest on domestic abuse allegations.
Jacobs was on the field Tuesday for the Packers’ second week of organized team activities. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said before Tuesday’s practice that Jacobs’ situation hasn’t caused distractions.
Jacobs was arrested May 26 in Brown County, Wisconsin, on allegations of strangulation and suffocation and other offenses. Hobart/Lawrence Police Chief Michael Renkas said police had been dispatched to a complaint involving Jacobs on the
morning of May 23.
Jacobs has issued a statement through his lawyers saying he “vehemently denies the allegations.” He was released from a Wisconsin jail Wednesday during the Packers’ first week of OTAs while authorities investigated the case.
District Attorney David Lasee said it’s too soon to make a formal charging decision.
“Our office has requested additional investigation, as there is reason to believe that additional evidence may exist that would impact whether criminal charges are appropriate, and what charges would be issued. ... The investigation remains open and is ongoing,” Lasee said last week.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney indicated this wasn’t Jacobs’ first day back with the team since the arrest. This was only the second OTA practice that was open to the media. The first such workout occurred Wednesday, when Jacobs was getting released from jail and therefore wasn’t practicing.
Jacobs wasn’t in the locker room during the Packers’ media availability after Tuesday’s practice, but quarterback Jordan Love discussed how the team has addressed the situation.
“We’ve talked internally,” Love said. “Everyone knows what the situation is there and we’ve talked, but obviously the details, everybody’s keeping that under wraps right now just out of respect for the situation and obviously all the legal stuff that’s going to be playing out. But it’s great to have Josh here with us, being able to work with us and get back to work.”
Love was asked if he has considered the possibility the Packers might not have Jacobs for at least part of the upcoming season.
“There’s always questions,” Love said. “I was shocked when I saw it, and like I said, it’s one of those things we’re going to let it play out. There’s a lot of uncertainty when you hear something like that of what might happen. But we’ll see, we’ll let it play out and go from there.”
Jacobs rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. The Packers have nobody else on their roster who ran for as many as 200 yards for them a year ago.
That followed a 2024 season in which Jacobs ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns while earning his third Pro Bowl selection.
Jacobs, 28, has rushed for 7,803 yards and 74 touchdowns in his seven-year career, which included five seasons with the Raiders. He earned All-Pro honors and had an NFL-leading 1,653 yards rushing with Las Vegas in 2022.
