Federal government executes third inmate this week after 17-year hiatus [8], In the winter of 1993 or 1994, Honken went to Cutkomp and said he needed to destroy a pistol. Brown said that in order to visit her son and witness his execution, she took out a loan. (The records list only $33.11 for Dustin Lee Honkens dinner from Pizza Hut, and $0 spent when Keith Dwayne Nelson refused a meal.) Real life Breaking Bad killer Dustin Honken, who went from - The Sun Twitter Iowa Drug Kingpin Who Killed 5 Is Executed - VOA His last words were, Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for me.. Maurice Chammah But authoritiesneeded five things before they could begin to prove their case: the bodies. Johnson took Duncan's daughters, 10-year-old Kandace Duncan and 6-year-old Amber Duncan, telling them that they were going on a surprise trip. Termed Iowas Walter White due to the startling similarities with the popular TV character, he was arrested when his recruits and partner double-crossed him. During the sentencing phase, the prosecution said Honken, who they described as an "evil mastermind", deserved to die since he had committed mass murder, killed children, killed a second time months after committing the four initial murders, showed no remorse, and had continued to try to escape prison and commit even more murders while in maximum security prisons. The Justice Department has executed Dustin Lee Honken in Terre Haute, Ind., the third federal inmate put to death by the government this week. Honken, 52, was sentenced to die in October 2005 after being convicted of numerous offenses, including five counts of murder among them two small children during the course of a continuing. "For years now, the government has made these terrible accusations against me," he said. "Nearly three decades after Honken coldly ended the lives of five people, including two young girls, all in an effort to protect himself and his criminal enterprise, he has finally faced justice," said department spokesperson Kerri Kupec. CST. In 1984, Honken plotted a bank robbery in which the person he would convince to commit the robbery for him would then be killed and thrown into a pond. The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., has been the site of three federal executions in a week, including Friday's of Dustin Lee Honken. eventAction: 'load' }) Susan Negersmith was a 20 year-old woman from Carmel, New York. After finishing a year of community college chemistry classes with an A-minus, Honken, decided to become both a drug manufacturer and a dealer using what he had learned. Here's why it probably isn't coming back. On July 17, 2020, Honken was executed by lethal injection. [7], On July 30, 1993, Honken gave his attorney the recording and said he was changing his plea. Never think about it. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), He claimed he had nothing to do with the 1993 disappearances. It was announced on Thursday that Iowa drug kingpin Dustin Lee Honken, who killed five people in the early 90s, has been scheduled to be executed 15 years after receiving his [] Anytime we needed anything, we were supposed to ask them, he said. And there are some potentially larger expenses, like whatever might be included in the 28 pages of records officials admitted to withholding. His lawyers contended he had dementia and didnt know why he was being executed. [6][10] Honken's defense presented testimony from his family, and pointed to his age and lack of prior violent convictions as mitigating factors. Iowa-licensed. [7] Within a year, Honken and Cutkomp managed to produce several pounds of nearly pure meth, which they sold in northeast Iowa, primarily through two dealers: Terry DeGeus and Greg Nicholson. Just before his death, Lee reportedly implored to the media at his execution to ask the judge about DNA evidence that was left out of his trial. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { He can be rehabilitated. Prisoner Keith Nelson's execution is set to take place on August 28.] He and Lori Duncan were bound and gagged and shot multiple times. Lets find out. Dustin Honken, a nerd turned drug kingpin, will become the only Iowan since 1963 to have the death sentence an Iowa jury imposed seen through on Friday, July 17, 2020. Dustin Honken, who killed 5 people in 1993 to be executed - KARE "I've climbed far bigger hills than that little hill. Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, at 8:19 a.m. local time. Upon appeal, Angela Johnson's death sentence was reduced to life in prison. pg.acq.push(function() { However, he and Tim were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges in March 1993. "I have desired to go, Where springs not fail, To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail, And a few lilies blow. Iowa meth kingpin is 3rd executed by US government this week - Yahoo News He was due to be executed in January of 2020, however, that was delayed due to appeals based on the method of death and whether or not it caused unnecessary pain and suffering. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and fined $1,100. Ten-year-old Kandi and 6-year-old Amber were still in their swimsuits on the hot summer day when they were shot execution-style in the back of the head. Within a year, Honken and his childhood friend, Tim Cutkomp, had moved to Arizona, built a sophisticated methamphetamine cooking setup and all but perfected a recipe for pure meth, which they sold mainly through two dealers in northeast Iowa: DeGeus, 32, and Greg Nicholson, 34. [33] Johnson is currently serving her sentence at FCI Waseca. Later, after learning DeGeus also agreed to cooperate with authorities, Johnson tricked him into taking her to a vacant farm where Honken beat and killed him. Johnson bought a pistol on July 7, 1993. After convincing Honken, then a recent high school graduate, to steal and copy the key to a local bank, his father robbed it. Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm, FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2005, file photo, Dustin Lee Honken is led by US Marshals into the Federal Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, prior to his sentencing. On February 7, 1996, officers executed a search warrant on Honken's house and discovered his meth lab, chemicals, equipment, books, and notes, including ones on manufacturing drugs and how to bind and gag people. For his last words, he turned to the writings of a Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins, reciting lines from the poem Heaven-Haven. An execution date of January 15, 2020, was set for Honken. And I have asked to be, where no storms come, where the green swell is in the havens dumb, and out of the swing of the sea. Dustin Honken is a convicted murderer - currently on death row in Illionois prison. He had a rare right-left brain combination that made him attractive enough to land a scholarship to North Iowa Area Community College in the early 1990s. Honken is set to die by a lethal. Kandi and Amber each had a single bullet wound in the back of their heads. He turned increasingly ashen as blood drained from his face and hands. Honken,a community college drop-out who created his meth empire in the early 1990s,was the third federal prisoner executed this week. The victims were related to a drug trial against Honken. Other security measures included fitting Honken with a stun belt under his clothes to prevent him from trying to escape. While Honken's execution is the last one in this weeklong spree, Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. [27], During cross-examination, a defense attorney questioned why someone like Honken would confide in "a couple of crackheads who steal hogs" for a living. [6], Honken, who was proficient in math, science, and writing, earned a scholarship to North Iowa Area Community College in 1991. Investigators were sure Honken was involved with the earlier missing people;the coincidences were too great, but they were no closer to finding the bodies. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), During one of their drug runs, Dustin met Angela Johnson, Terrys erstwhile girlfriend, and the two struck up a business relationship that soon evolved into a romantic one. A second bank robbery would land himin prison, where he would regale his frequently visiting sons with tales of his criminal exploits. Honken was involved in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, and one of his dealers was set to testify against him, so Honken and Johnson murdered him . Department of Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec said ending Honken's life was the culmination of "just punishment" being carried out. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' She was utterly devoted to her two daughters Kandace D. Duncan and Amber J. Duncan her family and hometown. [19], In 2000, Johnson's friend, Christi Gaubatz, decided to talk to the police. Like the other inmates put to death this week, Honken had appealed his sentence up until the last moments before his scheduled execution at 3 p.m.Central Daylight TimeFriday. 2d 663", "Judge removes Iowa woman from death row", "Dustin Lee Honken - Federal Execution - July 17, 2020", "Judge temporarily stops execution of north Iowa mass murderer Dustin Honken", "Supreme Court keeps federal executions, including that of Iowa murderer Dustin Lee Honken, on hold", "Administration seeks resumption of federal executions", "Federal Executions Can Restart After Supreme Court Declines a Case", "Higher courts rebuff late legal efforts, Iowan Dustin Honken put to death", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1993_Iowa_murders&oldid=1152124538. The death penalty is in flux. Not only that, the police found Terry DeGeus body in a field a few miles from the crime scene. Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty. [3] The two then bound and gagged Nicholson and his new girlfriend, 37-year-old Lori Ann Duncan. Honken beat, shot, and buried DeGeus. The Dustin Honken they wanted to kill is long gone. I realize I am here because of my own actions. let gads_event; And I have asked to be, Where no storms come, Where the green swell is in the havens dumb, And out of the swing of the sea," he said. The two used a blowtorch to cut and melt the gun into multiple pieces, which they discarded in ditches along a country road. The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., has been the site of three federal executions in a week, including Friday's of Dustin Lee Honken. I wish there was some way to go back and start over, but obviously there isn't. The victims' family is expected to provide a written statement to the public at some point soon. The elderly couple noticed a few things missing but nothing significant, almost like Lori had packed hurriedly. Courtney Crowder, the Register's Iowa Columnist, traverses the state's 99 counties telling Iowans' stories. [10][11] Johnson was raised by extremely religious grandparents who would hold her down, wave Bibles over her head, and speak in tongues in an attempt to exorcise demons from her. Iowa meth kingpin is 3rd executed by US government this week [37][38], While in prison, Honken converted to Catholicism. What they pay for on our side is the shipping of the body of our loved ones, the embalming, a suit for them to wear and the casket, said Lisa Brown, whose son Christopher Vialva was executed in September for killing two youth ministers. ga('ads.send', { Terry was lying face down in a shallow hole with a severely fragmented skull, having been shot one or more times. However, Cobeen became a police informant. He was pronounced dead at 3:36p.m. The two started a romantic relationship and Johnson soon became pregnant with Honken's child. }); During separate trials in 2004 and 2005, Dustin Honken and Angela Johnson were each convicted of the murders and both were given the death penalty. These are the stories that you need to know about capital punishment's past, as well as its uncertain future. Well never put our work behind a paywall, and well never put a limit on the number of articles you can read. }); At his sentencing in 2005, Honken recognized the victims families had suffered a senseless destruction of human life in losing their loved ones, but also declared that their vengeance toward me is misguided.. Soon, he would meet Angela Johnson, a woman who shared his ruthless worldview. "It sickens me to know what happened, she said, even more so not to tell anyone.. Daniel Lewis Lee, a white supremacist who killed a three-person family that includedan 8-year-old girl, and Wesley Ira Purkey, who raped, murdered, dismembered and dumped the body of a 16-year-old girl in a septic pond, were put to death Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. To minimize potential prejudice, the court ordered for officers not to move Honken in the presence of the jury and that table skirts be placed on the counsel tables so the jury would be unable to see the shackles. [7] During Johnson's trial, it was revealed that she had been molested as a child. [7], Honken said he planned to plead guilty, and a hearing was scheduled for July 30, 1993. The government announced they would seek death sentences for both Honken and Johnson. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { McNeese gave the notes and map to the authorities, and the victims' bodies were recovered shortly after. Circuit vacated District Judge Chutkan's injunction in a per curiam decision. The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., is shown, July 17, 2020. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal. A former Fulbright and H.F. Guggenheim fellow, he has reported on a range of criminal justice subjects, including jail conditions, sheriffs, wrongful convictions, and art by incarcerated people. "[31], The presiding judge stated, "I am troubled by the lack of certainty in the record concerning the precise involvement of Angela Johnson in these crimes". He then did the same to the children. [5] On November 20, 2019, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan issued a preliminary injunction preventing the resumption of federal executions. Upon hearing the sentence, Honken seemed visibly disappointed. CNN The US government on Friday executed Dustin Lee Honken, the third federal inmate to receive the death penalty this week after the punishment was revived by the Trump administration. During this time, he plotted to murder Cobeen, police officers, and chemists, and to destroy evidence against him. Consequently, Honken's offense level under the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines was set at 38, which called for a sentence of 235 to 293 months in prison. [5] Cutkomp wore a wire while he was around Honken during their time on pretrial release. Their primary target that day was Lori Duncans then-boyfriend, Greg Nicholson, who also lived at the home and was also killed. He reportedly wanted three last meals before his execution. [1], In April 2020, a divided panel of the D.C. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965, but federal. [7], Honken and Johnson forced the family into a car at gunpoint and drove to a wooden area outside of the city. Iowa drug kingpin who killed 5 set for execution Friday - NBC News Honkens execution was the last one in this weeklong spree. At his sentencing in 2005, Honken denied killing anybody, but Donoghue said she never heard him say he was innocent. The man they killed today was a human being, who could have spent the rest of his days helping others and further redeeming himself. By 1992, their multi-state ring was netting hundreds of thousands of dollars. Department of. Two others were also put to death during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years, including Wesley Purkey. They found no signs of a struggle inside no blood or furniture in disarray except for an unfinished dinner on the kitchen table. Yet, Marge knew foul play was involved as she never heard from her daughter or grandchildren again. Purkey, the night before he was put to death, saw Bill Clinton on television and said that he intended to vote for him in November elections. Angela lured him under the pretense of building their broken relationship, and the drug kingpin and her girlfriend fatally shot him dead too. He said Honken was "a young man infatuated with drug manufacturing, basically a nerd.[7]. He graduated from West Hancock High School in 1980 a record holder in pole vaulting who enjoyed being a junior high wrestling team member. pg.acq.push(function() { I had just returned to my cell from a hospital stay when I first learned that Lee, and three othersWesley Purkey, Dustin Honken and Keith Nelson had been given execution dates. Prisoner Dustin Honken is scheduled to be put to death on Friday, July 17. The crime Honken was executed for started as a missing-persons case tangentially connected to a federal drug trafficking charge. [7] He and Johnson passed notes through the food slot in his door about their lives in jail and their childhoods. While preparing for his trial, Honken discovered through legal documents that Nicholson had turned witness. On behalf of the prosecution, Assistant U.S. Attorney Pat Reinert argued for a life sentence, spending hours making a case for sentencing enhancements on the grounds that Honken had something to do with the disappearances of Nicholson, Lori, Kandace, Amber, and DeGeus: "It appears that these people are dead. Des Moines Register From. At the time of his death, Honken had served more than 22 years in an Indiana prison. She was visiting Wildwood, New Jersey, on Memorial Day Weekend with friends in 1990. A closer look Dustin Honken : r/Jodi_Huisentruit_Case - Reddit Their mother never got to see them having their first dance, first date or first walk down the aisle at their wedding., We will continue to live with their loss, it said. is a staff writer whose book, "Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty," won the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Work-In-Progress Book Award. }); Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. The guards told him theyd come in from out-of-state, he said, and records show the bureau spent roughly $3.1 million on unidentified costs associated with the staff it brought in from more than two dozen prisons across the country. He didnt look toward witnesses behind a glass barrier, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ceiling. She told them about Honken's and Johnson's search for Nicholson and that she had seen the pistol used in the 1993 murders in Johnson's closet before it was destroyed. The man they killed today could have spent the rest of his days helping others and further redeeming himself., In a statement, Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said just punishment has been carried out.. Johnson was originally sentenced to death for her part in the crime but had her sentence reduced to life in prison. [23], Honken and Johnson were tried separately. During her sentencing hearing, Johnson continued to blame Honken, but said "I regret I wasn't strong enough. The victims were related to a drug trial against Honken. Dustin's last meal was Pizza Hut his bill came to $33.11 Dustin Honken, was convicted of five counts of Continuing Criminal Enterprise murder. She offered a measure of apology at her first sentencing in 2005, saying she wanted to tell law enforcement about the killings, but feared for her life. Using a ruse to gain entry, Johnson and Honken did make a video of Nicholson denying his previous police statements, but then bound and gagged the adults, forced the children to pack bags and walked them at gunpoint to their car. Justice Department Executes Dustin Honken, 3rd U.S. Execution In - NPR Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. A judge later reduced her sentence to life behind bars. He once held a pillow over Alyssa's face after she told one of his girlfriends that he had other girlfriends. [7], McNeese got Johnson to confess to the murders by claiming he could find another inmate who could take the blame. Dustin Lee Honken: Iowan is executed for killing five people in 1990s Honken's execution was the last one in this weeklong spree. Investigation Discoverys Murder in the Heartland: Invitation To Be Killed chronicles how a meth kingpin, Dustin Lee Honken, killed two informants and their loved ones to prevent them from testifying against him in his federal drug trial. "I didn't kill anyone and even though that hasn't been proven, the accusations have repeatedly been used against me. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. In 2004, Dustin Lee Honken was convicted on federal charges in execution-style slayings of five people in Iowa. However, he declined to rule on whether Honken likely had a role in the 1993 disappearances. We are one of the worlds fastest growing He is ready to meet his maker.. Starting just minutes after its scheduled time, Honken recited Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Heaven-Haven," before saying a Hail Mary, though he tagged on an additional line: "Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for me.". [7], Over the next few weeks, Nicholson became extremely paranoid. In recent days, prison authorities permitted Honken to make his last calls to family and friends, according to Sister Betty Donoghue, a Catholic nun whom he called Wednesday. Honken an Iowa meth kingpin who kidnapped and killed five people, including two young girls, to thwart his prosecution for drug trafficking in 1993 is set to become the third federal inmate to be executed this week. Although details of his last meal were not revealed, Honken, in his last words, recited a poem by an English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ called Heaven-Heaven. Who Were Dustin Lee Honken's Victims? How Did He Die? On top of that, the bureau spent $6,594 on bottled water, $6,480 on single-serving bags of potato chips and $12,998 on disposable trays and baggies to deliver it all. The family of Terry DeGeus, one of two government witnesses Honken was convicted of killing, said attending Friday's execution was the "least they could do. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Honken had a notably healthy relationship with his mother, who he described as perfect. The execution of Dustin Lee Honken proceeded without any last-minute delays, unlike those of the two other federal inmates who had been put to death in previous days. Dustin Honken, 52, who prosecutors said killed key witnesses to stop them from testifying in his drugs case, received a lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. The prison food during executions cost more than $77,000 over the course of the summer. Purkey, a 68-year-old on death row for rape and murders in 1998, was executed on Thursday, July 16, by lethal injection as the Trump administration carried out its second federal execution. DeGeus body was found a few miles from the wooded area. Jim once convinced his son to steal and copy a key to a bank. Days before Honken was to plead guilty, prosecutors say Honken and Johnson kidnapped Nicholson and his girlfriend, Lori Duncan, and her two daughters, Kandi, 10, and six-year-old Amber. ga('ads.send', { In Lewis Lees case, his victims family had requested his sentencebe reduced to life in prison; in Purkeys, his lawyers asserted that dementia and schizophrenia meant he was not competent to be executed. Reach her at ccrowder@dmreg.com or 515-284-8360. },false) Honken and Cutkomp were indicted on federal drug trafficking charges. Death-row inmate Dustin Lee Honken, who killed a family of four, including two children and another person, was executed on Friday, July 17, at 4 pm local time, marking the government's third federal execution in a month after 17 years. The SD memory cards to record videos of their activities cost $58.78. Born into a life of uncertainty, Honken grew up in Britt, a small town west of Mason City in north central Iowa. He also decided to switch to meth. Dustin Honken third person executed by federal government this week } 'I'm Still Processing it,' Daughter of Honken Victim Speaks Out After Greg, Lori, and her daughters had all been shot at least once at close range, execution-style, in the back of the head. She could not breathe and swallowed water. Ive made a lot of mistakes in my life, but Im not a murderer. }); He wore a wire to a meeting and recorded Honken making a future $3,000 deal. Theyre willing to go to extraordinary lengths in terms of spending our money and then hiding the footprints of it.. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The spending records from July and August offer glimpses of not only the cost but the logistics of how the government puts prisoners to death. [40] On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court denied Honken's petition for review, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting.[40]. Dustin Honken is up for execution for the murder of five . [19], A judge initially barred McNeese from testifying against Johnson during her trial on the grounds that he was acting as a federal agent. [] Never dream about it. [13], Honken, seeking to expand his drug dealing business, studied chemistry textbooks at the library, read science journals, kept extremely thorough records, made plans to expand his business to the Internet, and considered writing his own book about how to make and sell meth in the United States. The agency refused to answer any questions about the money, procedures or details of what happened. There was the electrocardiogram machine ($1,459) and EKG tape ($81.24), a suture kit ($470.88), a heating pad ($18.46), assorted medical supplies ($374.67) and an ultrasound rental ($2,000), likely to help find a vein if the usual arm veins proved difficult. Dustin Honken, a convicted murderer of 5 people, sits on death row. Real life Breaking Bad killer Dustin Honken, who went from - The Sun Around seven years later, the police found the Duncan family and Gregs bodies buried in a single hole, which was located in a wooded area outside Mason City in 2000. An official with a stethoscope walked into the small death chamber, put his fingers on Honkens neck to check for a pulse, listened for a heartbeat, then exited. [3] A few months later, the fifth victim, also a former dealer, was murdered.[3]. Moments before being sentenced Honken maintained his innocence, accusing the judge in his case of having a "death agenda." Honken was convicted in October 2004 of murder in the 1993 deaths of five North Iowans. The US government on Friday executed Dustin Lee Honken, the third federal inmate to receive the death penalty this week after the punishment was revived by the Trump administration following a 17 . Outside the facility, protesters held press conferences, waved signs and live-tweeted every court development. Honken grew up in Britt, Iowa. More: From meth to murder: How a small-town Iowa boy became the state's first death row inmate in 50 years.