Death Row inmate who killed couple during a robbery shares final blunt statement

Jones was a new employee at a Miami business owned by Matilda and Jacob Nestor in December 1990 when he stabbed the woman in the neck and her husband in the chest

A man convicted of killing a married couple during a robbery in 1990 was put to death Tuesday.

Victor Tony Jones, 64, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. local time following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. It marks the 13th execution this year in the state.

The curtain to the viewing room opened right at the scheduled 6:00 p.m. start of the procedure. Asked if he had any last statement, Jone said, “no, sir.”

The warden shook Jones and shouted his name several minutes into the procedure, but there was no response. Jones’ face lost color as he laid motionless, and a medic eventually entered the death chamber and declared him dead minutes later. Officials said the execution was without complications.

“After seeing what I saw tonight, I wish my parents had that opportunity to die so gracefully, close your eyes and just go,” said Irene Fisher, daughter of the victims. “They were violently killed. My father fought for 20 minutes with a stab wound in his heart, and my mother died instantly in the bathroom on a cold floor.”

Jones was a new employee at a Miami business owned by Matilda and Jacob Nestor in December 1990 when he stabbed the woman in the neck and her husband in the chest, court records show. Investigators determined that despite his wounds, Jacob Nestor managed to retreat to an office, unholster a .22 caliber pistol and fire five times, striking Jones once in the forehead.

Police said they found Jones wounded at the scene with the Nestors’ money and personal property in his pockets. Jones was hospitalized and later convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 1993 and sentenced to death. The jury also found him guilty of armed robbery.

Fisher attended the execution of her parents’ killer with her own two adult daughters and three other family members. She said she had mixed emotions, as she had never watched anyone die before. But she said she was glad it was finally over and that justice had been served.

The Nestors owned a medical supply store in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, years before it became an internationally known arts and entertainment district. The building where the business had been located is now a community center.

“My parents would have loved that because they were always helping people in the community,” Fisher said.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Texas with five.

Jones filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month, based on intellectual disability and alleged abuse he suffered as a teen at a since shuttered state-run reform school. The court denied the claims, finding the disability issue had already been litigated and that allegations of abuse were never presented at trial.

Hours before the execution, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal without comment.

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