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USA Today
19 hours ago
- USA Today
Stephen Stanko, who killed 2 and raped his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter, is executed
Stephen Stanko, who killed 2 and raped his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter, is executed While prosecutors painted Stanko as a cold, calculated psychopath at trial, his attorneys at the time argued that he was insane when he committed the rape and murders. Show Caption Hide Caption US expands execution methods Most death row inmates faced one execution method in modern history. Now, there are many alternative ways to die. South Carolina has executed a conman-turned-murderer convicted of killing two people and raping his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter. Stephen Stanko, 57, was executed by lethal injection on Friday, June 13, for the murder of 74-year-old Henry Lee Turner, a retired Air Force master sergeant and father of three. Stanko was sentenced to death separately for the murder of his 43-year-old girlfriend, whom USA TODAY is not naming to protect her daughter's privacy as a rape survivor. Stanko became the 23rd inmate put to death in the U.S. this year and the third in South Carolina. He was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. While prosecutors painted Stanko as a cold, calculated psychopath at trial, his attorneys at the time argued that he was insane when he committed the murders. His current lawyers argued that his life should have been spared because the execution methods in South Carolina amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution, an argument refuted by state officials and rejected by courts. Here's what you need to know about Stanko's execution. Stanko's execution just one of four this week Stanko's final breaths came during a busy week for the death penalty in the U.S., with four executions between Tuesday and Friday. Two were executed on the same day on June 10: Anthony Wainwright in Florida by lethal injection and Gregory Hunt in Alabama by nitrogen gas. Oklahoma executed John Hanson by lethal injection on Thursday, June 12. What did Stephen Stanko do? In the middle of the night on April 8, 2005, Stanko attacked his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter as she slept in her bed at home in Murrells Inlet, an unincorporated seaside community just south of Myrtle Beach. The girl later sobbed and clutched a white teddy bear as she testified about the hours-long attack, according to coverage by the Sun-News. At some point, worried about her mother, the girl broke free and found her lying on the floor in another room. The girl testified that Stanko then hit her over the head and she blacked out. When she woke, he raped her again and then pinned her body to the bed with his knee while he strangled her mother in front of her. "I said, 'Please God, take me and not her,'" the girl testified as people in the courtroom cried, the Sun-News reported. "I fought hard but she stopped making noises, and that was it." After he killed his 43-year-old girlfriend, Stanko then drove 25 miles north the Conway home of one of her friends, Henry Lee Turner, whose body was found fatally shot about 24 hours later. Stanko fled the scene, setting off a nationwide manhunt that made national headlines. Four days after the murders, federal authorities tracked Stanko down about 200 miles west to Augusta, where he was hobnobbing with Masters golf fans, introducing himself as Stephen Christopher, and lying about his wealth. Stanko had also already wooed a woman, moved in with her and had even gone to church with her on the Sunday before he was captured, authorities said at the time. "She said he was the nicest, most courteous young man," the woman's grandmother told Knight Ridder at the time. "You would never know he was a fraud." Charles Grose, Stanko's attorney, said that experts have diagnosed the inmate with brain damage, 'likely from numerous brain injuries including from a troubled birth, a blow to the back of the head as a teen while shielding a classmate from an assault, and repeated traumas from serious sports-related head injuries.' He said that problems resulting from the brain damage were manageable in a controlled environment like prison and that he "productively used his years on death row to repent of his crimes and seek God's forgiveness, help other inmates and write about his experiences.' Grose added: 'While nothing excuses Stephen's terrible crimes, his execution will not make South Carolina safer.' Stanko described as conman, psychopath Archived news reports citing courtroom testimony and interviews describe a con artist who had a knack for reeling in women. Stanko's various lies included, according to archived news accounts: that he was a millionaire, he owned multiple hamburger restaurants, he had an engineering degree from a prestigious university, and he made bigtime deals in oil and real estate. "He has a need for grandiosity," one forensic psychologist observed on the witness stand, according to a 2006 report in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News. Another one simply said: "Mr. Stanko is a psychopath." Although Stanko was adept at charming some, others didn't buy his act. "He was smooth and he was slick," John Gaumer, a colleague of Stanko's slain girlfriend, told the Sun-News. "It's a puzzle to everyone I know what it was that he had − that he was able to exercise so much control over her was a mystery.' Her ex-husband told the paper that he met Stanko at her home. "I didn't like him. He knew that I knew what he was,' he said. 'When we looked at each other, I just could sense that there wasn't something right here. But at the same time, you are being told that he is OK, and you want to believe that." He said that Stanko had admitted to having a criminal past, likely as part of a plan to gain her trust. "The snowing ... obviously it drew her in. It was all part of the barrage, the seduction," he said. Stephen Stanko had criminal past, helped write a book from prison It's unclear just how much of his criminal past Stanko shared with his girlfriend. He had served more than eight years in prison for kidnapping and trying to kill another girlfriend in 1996. He had been living with the woman in Goose Creek when they got into an argument about his involvement in theft and fraud, and she told him he had to move out, according to police reports obtained by Knight Ridder in 2005. The next morning, they fought again, and Stanko soaked a washcloth with bleach, put it over her mouth, and tied up her wrists and ankles before he left. The woman, who told police that Stanko had tried to suffocate her, was able to break free and get help, Knight Ridder reported. Stanko pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery with intent to kill and kidnapping, and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to online court records reviewed by USA TODAY. During Stanko's time in prison for that case, he became an author and co-wrote a book called "Living in Prison: A History of the Correctional System with an Insider's View." On Amazon, the book is described as "a rigorous exploration of our correctional system" from Stanko's perspective "on the harsh realities of prison life." Who were Stephen Stanko's victims? USA TODAY was unable to reach family members of either of Stanko's murder victims. Archived news reports about who they were are limited, but both Stanko's girlfriend and Henry Lee Turner were described as trusting and caring people. Her ex-husband told the Sun-News that the mother of three had a great sense of humor. "She was a vivacious, intelligent, compassionate woman who was a very good mother," he told the newspaper. Turner's daughter, Debbie Turner Gallogly, told the Sun-News that her dad met Stanko when he and his girlfriend went to Turner's house to help him with computer problems. "He's a very trusting person, a very welcoming person," she said. "He loved inviting people into his home for meals."
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
From conman to 'psychopath': Stephen Stanko's murderous path brings him to death chamber
By all accounts, Stephen Stanko is a smooth talker. At 6 feet, 3 inches tall, with a shock of dark hair, Stanko was a striking man in his mid-30s. He would brag about being rich, buy drinks for everyone in the bar and hand his phone number out to women. But those who saw through Stanko knew he was no Prince Charming, but a smalltime con artist. Stanko's various lies included, according to archived news accounts: that he was a millionaire, he owned multiple hamburger restaurants, he had an engineering degree from a prestigious university, and he made bigtime deals in oil and real estate. "He has a need for grandiosity," one forensic psychologist observed on the witness stand, according to a 2006 report in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News. Another one simply said: "Mr. Stanko is a psychopath." On April 8, 2005, Stanko became something even worse: a rapist and a double murderer. Now 20 years later, Stanko is set to be executed by lethal injection in South Carolina on Friday, June 13, in what will be the nation's 23rd execution of the year and the fourth this week alone. Here's what you need to know about the rape and two murders that Stanko was convicted of and more about him and his victims. When is Stephen Stanko's execution? Stanko is set to be executed at 6 p.m. ET at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. If it moves forward, it will be the third execution in South Carolina this year. What did Stephen Stanko do? In the middle of the night on April 8, 2005, Stanko attacked his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter as she slept in her bed at home in Murrells Inlet, an unincorporated seaside community just south of Myrtle Beach. The girl later sobbed and clutched a white teddy bear as she testified about the hours-long attack, according to coverage by the Sun-News. At some point, worried about her mother, the girl broke free and found her lying on the floor in another room. The girl testified that Stanko then hit her over the head and she blacked out. When she woke, he raped her again and then pinned her body to the bed with his knee while he strangled her mother in front of her. "I said, 'Please God, take me and not her,'" the girl testified as people in the courtroom cried, the Sun-News reported. "I fought hard but she stopped making noises, and that was it." After he killed his 43-year-old girlfriend, Stanko then drove 25 miles north the Conway home of one of her friends, a 74-year-old man named Henry Lee Turner, a retired Air Force master sergeant and a father of three. He fatally shot Turner, whose body was found about 24 hours later, and stole his truck. Stanko fled the scene, setting off a nationwide manhunt that made national headlines. Four days after the murders, federal authorities tracked Stanko down about 200 miles west to Augusta, where he was hobnobbing with Masters golf fans, introducing himself as "Stephen Christopher" and lying about his wealth. Stanko had also already wooed a woman, moved in with her and had even gone to church with her on the Sunday before he was captured, authorities said at the time. "She said he was the nicest, most courteous young man," the woman's grandmother told Knight Ridder at the time. "You would never know he was a fraud." Stanko's trial attorneys argued that he was insane at the time of the murders, and his current lawyers say his life should be spared because the execution methods in South Carolina amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution, an argument refuted by state officials and rejected by courts. USA TODAY has reached out to Stanko's current attorneys for comment for this story. Some saw through Stephen Stanko before murders Although Stanko was adept at charming some, others didn't buy his act. "He was smooth and he was slick," John Gaumer, a colleague of Stanko's girlfriend, told the Sun-News. "It's a puzzle to everyone I know what it was that he had − that he was able to exercise so much control over her was a mystery.' Her ex-husband told the paper that he met Stanko at her home. "I didn't like him. He knew that I knew what he was,' he said. 'When we looked at each other, I just could sense that there wasn't something right here. But at the same time, you are being told that he is OK, and you want to believe that." He said that Stanko had admitted to having a criminal past, likely as part of a plan to gain her trust. "The snowing ... obviously it drew her in,' he said. 'It was all part of the barrage, the seduction." The father of the woman Stanko wooed the weekend he spent as a fugitive told Knight Ridder that Stanko 'presented himself as a well-to-do businessman' who was 'well dressed and well-mannered.' He added: 'He was a quite well-read, smooth-operating individual.' As a local county sheriff put it, according to the Sun-News: "He's just a mean guy and a con artist." Stephen Stanko had criminal past, helped write a book from prison It's unclear just how much of his criminal past Stanko shared with his girlfriend. He had served more than eight years in prison for kidnapping and trying to kill another girlfriend in 1996. He had been living with the woman in Goose Creek for six months when they got into an argument about his involvement in theft and fraud, and she told him he had to move out, according to police reports obtained by Knight Ridder in 2005. The next morning, they fought again, and Stanko soaked a washcloth with bleach, put it over her mouth, and tied up her wrists and ankles before he left. The woman, who told police that Stanko had tried to suffocate her, was able to break free and get help, Knight Ridder reported. Stanko pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery with intent to kill and kidnapping, and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to online court records reviewed by USA TODAY. During Stanko's time in prison, he became an author and co-wrote a book called "Living in Prison: A History of the Correctional System with an Insider's View." On Amazon, the book is described as "a rigorous exploration of our correctional system" from Stanko's perspective "on the harsh realities of prison life." Who were Stephen Stanko's victims? USA TODAY was unable to reach family members of either of Stanko's murder victims for this story. Archived news reports about who they were are limited, but both Stanko's girlfriend and Henry Lee Turner were described as trusting and caring people. Her ex-husband told the Sun-News that the mother of three had a great sense of humor. "She was a vivacious, intelligent, compassionate woman who was a very good mother," he told the newspaper. Turner's daughter, Debbie Turner Gallogly, told the Sun-News that her dad he met Stanko when he and his girlfriend went to his house to help him with computer problems. "He's a very trusting person, a very welcoming person," she said. "He loved inviting people into his home for meals." She told the outlet that she had learned a lot of life lessons from her father. "Fortunately I have those to treasure," she said. "He was very much a man who was himself ... He was just what you saw."
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Yahoo
Vigils Sunday night will honor Las Cruces Young Park shooting victims
Several vigils have been scheduled to honor the memory of those killed in the Friday night shooting at Young Park in Las Cruces. Sana Iglesia said in a Facebook post that it would hold a vigil at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 23 at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library Branch, 200 E. Picacho Ave. Momentum Church said it too would hold a prayer vigil service at 7 p.m. Sunday for those killed and injured in the shooting at its location at 1630 Hickory Loop. Do you know of additional vigils or memorial services? Email the Sun-News at news@ to have them added to this list. Las Cruces officials said 15 people were injured and three died during the exchange of gunfire at Young Park around 10 p.m. March 21. On Sunday investigators identified 16-year-old Andrew Madrid, a sophomore at Centennial High School, as one of the three killed. Also killed were Jason Gomez, 18, and Dominick Estrada, 19. Las Cruces officials said Saturday that seven people injured in the shooting were treated and released. The others were receiving ongoing medical treatment for injuries at area hospitals. Their current medical conditions are unknown. We are deeply saddened by the devastating shooting that occurred last night in the heart of Las Cruces at Young's Park.... Posted by Momentum Church Las Cruces on Saturday, March 22, 2025 The City has partnered with Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, which is collecting donations to support victims and their families. Donations can be made online to the Together Las Cruces Crisis Action Fund. According to its website, donations to this fund are currently designated to providing 'direct assistance' to families and victims of the Young Park shooting. This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces Young Park shooting victims to be honored at Sunday vigils
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Las Cruces Mayor contemplating run for New Mexico governor
Former longtime Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima is contemplating a run for governor of New Mexico. In a news release on Feb. 27, 2025, Miyagishima, 61, announced he formed an "exploratory committee" for the 2026 election. Miyagishima told the Sun-News he would determine if he would run by May and that a potential run would be in the New Mexico Democratic Party. Miyagishima said his committee of six or seven people have been working on a potential run for the past two years and that he will expand the committee to include folks throughout the state. Deb Haaland, a Democrat and former Interior Secretary and New Mexico congresswoman, announced her intent to run for Governor earlier in February. On his website, Miyagishima acknowledged Haaland's announcement, stating, "We love Deb Haaland don't get us wrong, we hope for huge things for her, but she's not the right person for this moment, in this place." Miyagishima was the Las Cruces Mayor for 16 years, stepping down prior to the 2023 municipal election with Eric Enriquez winning the election to replace him. He previously held elected positions as Doña Ana County Commissioner and Las Cruces City Councilor. He lost a state race for the New Mexico House of Representatives in 1990 to Republican Leonard Rawson. Miyagishima oversaw historical population growth in Las Cruces during his mayoral stint. He also managed the city's response amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He is currently an adjunct finance professor at New Mexico State University. Miyagishima has lived in Las Cruces since 1971 and graduated from New Mexico State University in 1985. "I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served as mayor, and to make a difference in our community," Miyagishima said in a news release. "Now, I am ready to take that experience, and those lessons learned to a broader platform. This exploratory committee will allow me to engage with New Mexicans, including our elected officials, hear their concerns, and explore how I can best serve as governor." On his website, Miyagishima touts a platform that includes housing, retirement, healthcare, education reform, economic opportunities, crime reduction, homelessness, generational wealth creation, and sustainable development. The exploratory committee will be composed of policy experts and volunteers, according to a news release. The committee's mission is to connect with residents across the state to discuss critical issues. Miyagishima plans to hold a series of town hall meetings in the coming months, which will be available in both in-person and virtual formats. "I am excited about the opportunity to connect with people from all corners of our state and to discuss the vision we can create together," Miyagishima said in a release. "Leadership is about listening and responding to the needs of our communities, and I am committed to doing just that. I have dedicated my life to serving our community, and I am enthusiastic about the potential to expand that service to the entire state of New Mexico." This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Ken Miyagishima contemplating run for New Mexico governor
