Florida set to execute man convicted of raping and killing a woman 3 decades ago
STARKE, Fla. — A man convicted of raping and killing a woman three decades ago after kidnapping her from a supermarket parking lot in Florida is scheduled to be executed Tuesday.
Anthony Wainwright, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted in the April 1994 killing of 23-year-old Carmen Gayheart, a mother of two young children, in Lake City.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
23 minutes ago
- CNN
Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans
National security TerrorismFacebookTweetLink Follow For nearly a decade, the community in Orlando has been working to find a way to memorialize the 49 people who were killed when a gunman opened fire on Latin night at a popular gay nightclub, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history at the time. Now, as the city marks the nine-year anniversary of the tragedy at Pulse on June 12, city leaders and local activists say they have renewed hope that construction of a permanent memorial site will begin next June. City engineers are currently reviewing proposals from design firms with plans to award a contract this summer. The conceptual site design – created by an 18-member advisory board of survivors, loved ones of victims and community leaders – includes a memorial and reflection space, a survivors' tribute wall, a private gathering space for personal reflection, a walkway with columns honoring the 49 victims on rainbow glass panels, a healing garden and a visitor's center. The Pulse Memorial is set to be completed by the end of 2027, according to the city. Admission to the memorial will be free, city officials say. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who has been mayor since 2003, said he believes it's important to honor the victims and survivors. 'I think from the time it happened we knew that we wanted to memorialize the victims of the tragedy and have a place to reflect on what happened and to honor them,' Dyer told CNN. 'Hopefully that is what we will be able to achieve with the memorial, and I think it's important that it's on the site where it took place.' The building that housed the club will be demolished, Dyer said. Family members of the victims and survivors were able to walk through the building for the first time on Wednesday. 'For whatever closure and peace of mind that may provide somebody, we wanted to make that available,' Dyer said. The city acquired the land where Pulse sits from the club's owners in December 2023 for $2 million, a city spokeswoman said. The club owners had formed a non-profit called the onePulse Foundation following the shooting with the intention of raising funds to build a memorial and museum in honor of the victims, Dyer said. The foundation raised more than $20 million in the seven years it operated, according to CNN affiliate WFTV. Dyer said the money raised was largely spent on salaries of foundation workers. The foundation's plans for both a memorial site and a museum that would cost at least $50 million to build proved to be 'very hard to achieve,' Dyer said. The onePulse Foundation dissolved in December 2023, according to WFTV. 'The magnitude that needed to be raised to create a museum overwhelmed the memorial process,' Dyer said. Nancy Rosado, an advisory committee member and community activist, said the lack of progress on building the museum for nine years became a 'sticking point to healing' for survivors and the family and friends of victims. Rosado, who offered grief counseling to many of the families impacted by the massacre, said people wanted to see their loved ones memorialized and have the trauma they endured from the shooting recognized in a meaningful way. The city, she said, surveyed families and victims on what they wanted the memorial site to include. One shared goal of the advisory committee was to ensure that the memorial honored both the gay and Latino communities who felt at home at the club before the shooting. 'I believe this will move them forward,' Rosado said. 'Let's get this component settled so you have a place to go to express your grief or to express joy at seeing your son or daughter's name or your friend's name on a wall. These elements are so healing and I'm really happy that we are at this particular point.' Brandon Wolf, who survived the Pulse shooting after hiding in a bathroom, said it's past time for the community to have a 'respectful, permanent place to pay their respects.' Wolf lost his two best friends, Christopher Andrew Leinonen and Juan Ramon Guerrero, in the attack. 'I am looking forward to a space that is worthy of the memory of my best friends – one where I can feel close to them and reflect on why we have to continue doing the work to honor them with action,' said Wolf, who is also national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. But some families and community advocates say they oppose the advisory committee's design plan for a memorial site. Zachary Blair, co-founder of the grassroots group Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice and a former Pulse patron, said he is disappointed that it's been nine years since the shooting and the city still has no permanent memorial for the victims of the tragedy at Pulse. Blair said he created his group and started speaking out in 2019 when he learned the onePulse Foundation wanted to build a multi-million dollar museum. He said many families and survivors were against the museum because they believed it was 'turning a massacre into a tourist attraction.' When onePulse dissolved in 2023, Blair said there was even more frustration that the foundation had raised millions of dollars, yet it still didn't build anything to memorialize those impacted by the attack. 'It's awful and it shows how much of a failure these people are,' Blair said. In a statement published by CNN affiliate WESH in 2023, the onePulse board said it was 'challenged by unexpected and definitive events, among them the inability to secure a full donation of the Pulse nightclub site from the property owners and a global pandemic that brought with it critical limits and many unanticipated consequences, that ultimately impacted our fundraising efforts.' 'These unanticipated challenges have led the Trustees to vote late yesterday to initiate the transfer of our assets and the dissolution of the Foundation,' the statement read. Blair said his group still believes the city's current memorial design is 'too garish, it's too touristy.' 'It's not a somber, reflective, dignified space where families and the public can come to pay their respects,' he said. Christine Leinonen, Christopher Andrew Leinonen's mother, said she believes the existing plan is more of a tourist attraction that the city is using to bring in revenue from visitors spending money in Orlando. Leinonen, also a co-founder of Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, said she would prefer an outdoor memorial park with trees and a walking path. She said she applied to join the city's advisory committee but was not selected. 'We want a simplified, dignified, free, easy space,' Leinonen. 'A place where people can stop by while they are out walking. Let's not take a mass shooting … and make it into your form of collecting tourist dollars.' Dyer acknowledged that there has been some division among families and survivors on how the Pulse memorial site should look. He called claims that the site will be a tourist attraction 'misinformation.' Rosado said she feels confident the current plans for the memorial will be successful. 'Right now, people have such little faith and are braced for a shoe to drop somewhere along the line,' Rosado said. 'But I have a lot of faith that at this stage of the game with all the fanfare and all the commitment and time invested in this that we are going to see this memorial be a fitting tribute to those we lost that day.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pulse massacre survivors, families visit nightclub site on 9th anniversary, before its demolition
The Brief Families and survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting are touring the site for the first time, nine years after the attack. The City of Orlando purchased the property in 2023 and plans to build a $12 million permanent memorial by 2027. Emotional reactions have varried, as visible scars and memories resurfaced during the walkthroughs. ORLANDO, Fla. - Survivors and families of the 49 victims killed in the Pulse Nightclub shooting were invited this week to walk through the nightclub for the first time since the June 12, 2016, massacre, just before the site is demolished. What we know Over four days, visitors are allowed 30-minute visits inside the building, where physical traces of the tragedy — including bullet holes and escape routes — remain. The City of Orlando bought the site in 2023 for $2 million and plans to replace it with a $12 million permanent memorial by 2027. What we don't know Some visitors opted out or left early, highlighting emotional limits, but the full psychological impact of the visits remains to be seen. It's unclear how the new memorial will be received long-term by survivors, families, and the LGBTQ+ community, given past failed efforts and lingering distrust towards city leadership and former club owners. The backstory Pulse was hosting a Latin Night when Omar Mateen opened fire, killing 49 and wounding 53 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Survivors and families had long pushed for meaningful access to the site and a permanent tribute, but a controversial foundation failed to deliver on its $100 million memorial plan, prompting the city to step in. The Pulse tragedy reshaped Orlando and became a global symbol of violence against the LGBTQ+ community. RELATED: Pulse Memorial: Orange County commits $5 million toward permanent site Timeline At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Pulse shooting's death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas. June 12, 2016: Pulse nightclub shooting leaves 49 dead 2023: City of Orlando purchases site for $2 million after onePulse Foundation disbands June 2025: Survivors and families tour the club just before 9th anniversary 2027: Planned opening of a $12 million permanent memorial What they're saying Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and city officials say these site visits are a vital part of the healing process, though for many, the emotional wounds persist and the loss remains irreparable. "Nothing can bring the 49 back. Nothing can cure the mental anguish so many people have gone through," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Wednesday. "I would hope, a site visit would be helpful." Christine Leinonen, whose son, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen, was killed in the mass shooting, was among the first groups to go inside the club on Wednesday. "It's not closure. It's pragmatic for me because I needed to see the space. I needed to see how big it was," Leinonen said afterward. "I would have regretted it if I didn't go through it." Brandon Wolf, who hid in a bathroom as the gunman opened fire, said he wasn't going to visit, primarily because he now lives out of state. He said he wanted to remember Pulse as it was before. "I will say that the site of the tragedy is where I feel closest to the people who were stolen from me," said Wolf, who is now national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ+ advocacy group. "For survivors, the last time they were in that space was the worst night possible. It will be really hard to be in that space again." STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the City of Orlando, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Christine Leinonen, and additional reporting by the Associated Press.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
"I had no other choice" - Dwyane Wade on suing estranged wife over STD claim tied to alleged affair
"I had no other choice" - Dwyane Wade on suing estranged wife over STD claim tied to alleged affair originally appeared on Basketball Network. When family drama ends up in court, you know things have really gone south. That's exactly the situation Dwyane Wade found himself in February of 2009. Advertisement At the time, the Miami Heat superstar felt his private life was being shattered by what he believed were false accusations from his estranged wife, Siohvaughn Wade. He responded with a bold move: suing her and her three lawyers for defamation. "It has been difficult to see false allegations, rumors and gossip repeatedly discussed in public about my personal life," surprised Wade stated, per ESPN. "I had no other choice but to file this action in order to clear my name." Wade experienced off-the-court turmoil At the time, Wade and the Heat were bouncing back from a brutal 2007–08 season. Much of that upward trend was thanks to Wade, who had put up some of the best numbers in his career. But while things looked promising on the court, he was facing serious trouble off it. Advertisement Early that year, Dwyane's estranged wife and former high school sweetheart, Siohvaughn — whom he had married in 2002 — had filed serious accusations. She claimed he had infected her with a sexually transmitted disease through an extramarital affair in 2007 and accused him of abandoning their children for weeks at a time. Court filings also revealed their youngest son — one of their three children — had grown so distant from the 27-year-old that he no longer recognized him as his father and would break down in tears during visits. At the same time, Wade was already under the tabloid spotlight. His split from Siohvaughn — and the messy divorce proceedings that followed — had become media fodder, and things only got worse. Advertisement The Palm Beach Post reported claims from a former business partner, who was suing the 2007 Finals MVP over a failed restaurant venture. He alleged that D-Wade used a rented Miami apartment for sex parties and smoked marijuana there. Related: "Lot of teammates don't be as close as us three are after basketball" - Gary Payton on why he keeps close ties with his old SuperSonics teammates Wade's rocky relationship Ultimately, Siohvaughn withdrew the claim from the court handling the divorce case for unknown reasons. However, that wasn't enough to satisfy her NBA star husband, who argued her allegations not only defamed him but also caused embarrassment and humiliation and harmed his future earning potential. Advertisement ESPN reported that Wade's legal team claimed in their lawsuit filed in Chicago that Siohvaughn Wade's allegations, made through her attorneys and spread by print and online media worldwide, placed plaintiff Dwyane Wade in a false light. While the future three-time NBA champion wanted to clear his name, move on quietly, and finally live in peace, his wife's lawyers saw a clear conflict between that and his actions. "It seems interesting to me Wade would file a lawsuit like this when he supposedly wants to keep a low profile. This lawsuit will put his entire private and social life in full view of the public," said Michael Berger, Mrs. Wade's attorney at the time. The outcome of Wade's lawsuit remains unknown publicly, as settlement details were never disclosed. What is clear, however, is that their relationship became messy and deteriorated over time. Advertisement "Our relationship was rocky," the Hall of Famer said in Life Unexpected. "We had been together since we were 16 years old, so we had a lot of differences and we didn't know how to handle those." Related: Pat Riley on his free agency fiasco with Dwyane Wade: "I have great regret that I didn't put myself in the middle of it" This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
