JUST IN: Florida Executes Jamaican Man Who Murdered Pregnant Mother and Little Girl

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]After spending 20 years on death row, Jamaican immigrant Richard Andrew Knight Jr. was finally executed by lethal injection for the horrific triple murder of a 4-year-old girl and her pregnant mother. Stay with me because in this video, I'll show you his trial, his execution, and the final words he spoke before his death. Richard Knight was born in Jamaica and arrived in the United States in 1998. Shortly after entering the country, he decided to remain there illegally and soon became involved in drugs and robberies. Before the crime that would ultimately send him to death row, Knight was already facing serious accusations, including indecent sexual assault against a 16-year-old girl and physical assault against a 12-year-old child. In June of 2000, Knight was going through a desperate situation. He had no job, no money, and nowhere to live. That was when he remembered his cousin, Hans Mullins, who lived in Coral Springs in Broward County with his girlfriend, Odessia Stevens, a 24year-old woman. The couple had a 4-year-old daughter named Hennessy Mullins, and Odessia was also 6 weeks pregnant at the time of the events.

[00:01:15]Odessia Stevens never liked the idea of Richard Knight staying in the apartment.

[00:01:21]Knight had no job and depended financially on the couple, a situation that constantly caused tension and arguments, especially between him and Odessia. On the night of June 27th, 2000, Hans Mullins was at work. At approximately 900 p.m., he spoke with Odessia on the phone, and she told him that she was getting ready for bed and that Richard Knight was still inside the apartment. Odessia felt uncomfortable with Knight being in the home, especially because her young daughter was there and she herself was 6 weeks pregnant. Determined to put an end to the situation, she went to tell him that it was time for him to leave. That was when a heated verbal argument broke out between the two. Without warning and in a brutal and merciless manner, Richard Knight grabbed a knife and lunged at Odessia, violently attacking her. Little Hennessy, after seeing Knight pull out a knife to attack her mother, reacted instinctively. In an act of love and protection at such a young age, the little girl threw herself at him in an attempt to defend Odessia. Knight stabbed her multiple times, taking her life. After the attack on the child, Odessia tried to defend herself in the kitchen by attempting to grab another knife. A struggle broke out between them there, ending when night overpowered her and repeatedly stabbed her. While all of this was happening, a neighbor living on the floor above began hearing loud banging noises, followed by the desperate screams of a woman and a small child. Alarmed by what he was hearing, he called 911 at 12:21 a.m. When Officer Vincent Saxs arrived at the building just 8 minutes later, screams could still be heard coming from the apartment. The officer observed lights on in the master bedroom and hallway. He also noticed that a window in another room was slightly open. After knocking on the door several times without receiving an answer, the officer walked around the building. At that moment, he noticed that all the lights inside the apartment had been turned off, and that the window, which had previously been only slightly open, was now fully open with the curtains hanging outward, indicating that someone had escaped from the apartment.

[00:03:37]Shining his flashlight inside, the officer observed blood in the dining room and in the master bedroom. Shortly afterward, he found little Hennessy Mullins curled up in a fetal position beside a closet door. Finally, upon entering the apartment, he discovered the body of Odessius Stevens in the living room. A short time later, another officer spotted Richard Knight hiding near some bushes approximately 100 m from the building. When she approached him, she noticed scratches on his chest, fresh wounds on his hands, and blood stains on his shirt. Although he was wearing normal clothes and athletic shoes, Knight claimed that he had been out jogging. He also stated that he lived in the apartment, but that he did not have a key and had not entered the residence for some time. Less than an hour after the attack, Richard Knight was arrested practically with blood still on his hands.

[00:04:33]Inside the apartment, investigators recovered several bloodstained knives, the weapons used to murder both Odessia Stevens and Little Hennessy. Because Odessia was pregnant, the crime ultimately claimed three lives. Both victims had been stabbed multiple times.

[00:04:49]Investigators also found skin cells underneath Odessia's fingernails, evidence that she had tried to defend herself by viciously scratching her attacker.

[00:05:00]Richard Andrew Knight Jr. was formally charged on August 15th, 2001. The evidence against him was overwhelming.

[00:05:08]However, the trial did not begin until 2006.

[00:05:13]Ultimately, the jury found him guilty and in March 2007, he was sentenced to death. During nearly 20 years on death row, Knight filed multiple appeals claiming that he was innocent. However, amid the wave of executions scheduled in Florida under Governor Ronda Santis, his execution was set for May 21st, 2026.

[00:05:35]The final 24 hours of Richard Knight were quiet and uneventful. He woke up at 5:00 a.m., showered, and spent the day alone. No relatives or visitors accompanied him during his final hours.

[00:05:48]When prison staff informed him that he could receive his last meal, Knight refused it. He also declined the regular prison meal and rejected the offer of having a spiritual adviser present for comfort during his final moments. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Knight was transferred to the execution chamber.

[00:06:08]The curtain to the chamber was raised promptly at 6:00 p.m. the scheduled time of the execution. Knight was already strapped to the gurnie with his arms extended and an intravenous line in place. When the warden asked if he wished to make a final statement, Knight replied, "I want to give thanks to Yahweh the most high." The execution began immediately afterward. Knight closed his eyes and barely moved as the drugs took effect. After about 10 minutes, a physician entered the chamber and pronounced him dead. Richard Knight, 47, was officially declared dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a three drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starky.