A death row killer apologized to his victim just moments before he was executed.
Darryl Barwick was only 19 years old when he brutally stabbed Rebecca Wendt after he saw her sunbathing by the pool of her apartment complex in Panama City.
He then followed her home so he could see where she lived, went to his own place, and grabbed a knife before returning back to Wendt's apartment and stabbing her to death.
The 24-year-old's sister, who moved with her to the area from Huron, Ohio, came home to discover Wendt's body laying in a pool of her own blood in the bathtub, still in her bathing suit.
According to the Pensacola News Journal, she had been stabbed a total of 37 times.
"[Barwick] sees the bathing suit-clad young lady, 24 years old," the prosecutor told the jury during the killer's first trial."Obviously decent looking, nice looking. On his way back, he sees her․ He then plans, 'I'm going back there.' He goes back, goes back to the very same spot. He then eyes two women who are sunbathing as if to select his victim."
Barwick was arrested a few weeks later after confessing to the murder to his brothers who would later stand on trial against him and confess that he had a history of sexual assault. Though the coroner could not determine if Wendt had been sexually assaulted during the crime, evidence showed that there was semen present on the comforter found on her body in the bathtub.
DNA suggested that it was likely to be Barwick's as he fell into the 2 percent of people that it could match.
He was found guilty of murder in November 1986 and was sentenced to death. So far, the now 56-year-old has served 36 years on death row.
It was announced that he would finally be executed on May 3 after an earlier retrial on appeal. However, he was unsuccessful and was re-sentenced to death.
Before his execution took place, Barwick had a few words for the victim and her family.
"It’s time to apologize to the victim’s family, to my family. I can’t explain why I did what I did," he said, as per a new report by the Pensacola News Journal. "And another thing I would like to say, the state of Florida needs to show some kind of compassion and kindness for each other with so many kids in prison. There are 14- and 15-year-olds serving life sentences."
The outlet also reported that he was lying on a gurney and looking up as he spoke.
No members of Barwick's family or the victim's family were present during the speech, though there were other witnesses present to see the execution.
According to the report, the killer died at approximately 6:14 PM after he was administered a lethal injection via his arm. The procedure started at 6:02 PM and he died 12 minutes later.
For his last meal, the Florida Department of Corrections said Barwick ordered fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas and rice, cornbread, strawberry ice cream, and a cola.
