STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of stabbing a woman to death during a home invasion robbery more than 30 years ago is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is set to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Geralds was convicted of murder, armed robbery, burglary and car theft, and was sentenced to death in 1990. In 1992, the Florida Supreme Court vacated his sentence but upheld his conviction, leading to a resentencing to death.
This execution represents Florida's 18th death sentence in 2025, breaking the state record for total executions in a single year.
In February 1989, Tressa Pettibone’s 8-year-old son discovered his mother gruesomely beaten and stabbed in their Panama City home. Records indicate that Geralds, a carpenter, had previously remodeled the home, placing him in the vicinity prior to the murder.
Just a week before the crime, Geralds encountered Pettibone and her children at a shopping mall, where she mentioned her husband was away on business. Investigators believe Geralds's questions about the family’s routine and the father’s return time were precursors to the murder.
Evidence presented in court showed Geralds pawned jewelry with traces of Pettibone’s blood and possessed plastic ties similar to those found at the crime scene.
Recently, following the signing of his death warrant, Geralds expressed his desire not to pursue any further appeals, and a judge approved this decision.
In the U.S., 44 executions have occurred this year, with Florida leading in numbers and more planned soon. Notably, Frank Athen Walls, 58, is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 18 for his role in a home invasion that led to multiple deaths.
Florida’s lethal injection protocol includes a sedative, a paralytic agent, and a drug that halts the heart, according to the state's Department of Corrections.
