A guy who broke into a woman’s house and stabbed her to death in 1986 is due to be executed in the state of Florida on Wednesday. This murder occurred just a few short months after the man had been freed from prison for rape.
At the Florida State Prison in Starke, Darryl B. Barwick, who is 56 years old, is scheduled to be put to death at six in the evening.
Barwick admitted that on March 31, 1986, he killed Rebecca Wendt, who was 24 years old, in her apartment in Panama City, after watching her sunbathe outdoors and following her back into her room after she had been sunbathing.
He said that his intention was to rob Wendt, but that he ended up killing her because she resisted. He stabbed her 37 times when she was trying to defend herself against him.
According to the officials, the swimsuit that Wendt was wearing seemed as though someone had made an unsuccessful attempt to remove it. Medical examiners reported discovering semen on a blanket near where her corpse was discovered, but there was no proof of a sexual assault.
Barwick’s confession, the presence of the semen stain, the testimony of a witness who observed him coming toward and leaving Wendt’s flat, and footprints that were left inside and outside the apartment all provided the evidence that the authorities needed to link Barwick to the crime.
In November of 1986, he was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed burglary, attempted sexual battery, and armed robbery. Two months later, on December 2, he was sentenced to death based on the recommendation of the jury, which was 9-3.
According to court documents, Barwick murdered Wendt less than three months after being released from jail for raping a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint.
The crime occurred while Barwick was incarcerated. Barwick admitted to stabbing Wendt to death in his confession for the murder, and he stated that the reason he did so was because he did not want to go back to jail.
The warrant for Barwick’s execution was signed last month by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. After a hiatus that lasted all the way back to 2019, this will be Florida’s third execution planned for this year.
Since the return of the death penalty to Texas in 1976, this upcoming execution will be the state’s 102nd since that time.
