Edward Thomas James (August 4, 1961 – March 20, 2025) was an American murderer and sex offender. His being featured on the national television show ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

'' led to his capture and

conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is Guilty (law), guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a ...

for the September 1993 murders of an eight-year-old girl and her grandmother in

Casselberry, Florida Casselberry is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 28,794 at the 2020 census. Geography The approximate coor ...

. He was convicted and

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

in 1995. He sat on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

and awaited execution for nearly 30 years. He was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

on March 20, 2025.

Background

Edward Thomas James was born in

Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City in Philadelphia opposite Burlington, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Bristol was s ...

, on August 4, 1961. He believed his last name was Matlack until the age of 10, when he discovered that the man raising him was his stepfather. At age 11, James was introduced to drugs by his biological father, who was a drug counselor, after meeting and moving to live with him. In his mid-teens, James returned to live with his mother and moved to Casselberry in Seminole County, Florida. His life heavily revolved around drug addiction and violence, and he claimed to have drug-induced blackouts. His mother sought assistance from a

mental health counselor A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor (counsellor in British English), is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with add ...

; however, his violence and drug use continued. James dropped out of high school in his junior year and joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

when he was 17. He was stationed in Germany, but was soon

discharged Discharge may refer to: * The act of firing a gun * Termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from service Flow * Discharge (hydrology), the a ...

for "failure to conform." James returned to Casselberry, where he became friends with a man named Tim Dick. James was welcomed into Dick's extended family, and, in the summer of 1993, he rented a room from Dick's mother, Betty.

Murders

On September 20, 1993, James returned home from a party to find Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Dick's four grandchildren sleeping in the living room. He grabbed eight-year-old Toni Marie Neuner by the neck and

strangled Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...

her into unconsciousness. He then took her to his bedroom and, believing she was already dead, raped her, after which he put her between his bed and the wall. She later died as a result of the strangulation.WalshEdward James vs. State of Florida, p. 5 James proceeded to Betty Dick's bedroom, where he hit her in the head with a candlestick and repeatedly stabbed her with a knife. Dick screamed, waking up Toni's sister, nine-year-old Wendi, who came to the bedroom. James tied Wendi up and put her in the bathroom. He then got a

butcher knife A butcher knife or butcher's knife is a knife designed and used primarily for the butchering or dressing of animal carcasses. Use Today, the butcher knife is used throughout the world in the meat processing trade. The heftier blade works well ...

from the kitchen, returned to the bedroom, and stabbed Betty in the back. After showering and taking jewelry from her bedroom, James fled in her car.

Apprehension and sentencing

On September 28, 1993, ''America's Most Wanted'' (''AMW'') broadcast information related to the case, resulting in hundreds of viewer phone calls. Several tips indicated that he was traveling west. On October 5, 1993, the program broadcast an updated version with new information added from tips after the previous broadcast. The next day, a viewer spotted James at the California state unemployment office in

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

and contacted authorities. Once in police custody, he gave two taped statements. On April 5, 1995, James

plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

ded guilty to two counts of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

, and one count each of

aggravated Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself" ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

, attempted

sexual battery Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault, which is the act of creating reasonable fear or apprehension of such contact. Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more gen ...

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

grand theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

, and

grand theft auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is prima ...

. He also pleaded

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

to two counts of capital sexual battery charged by separate information. On August 18, 1995, James was

for the murders of Toni Neuner and Betty Dick, as well as sentences ranging from 15 years to

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

on the other charges. He was incarcerated at

Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is an American correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida, with a Raiford postal address. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East U ...

Raiford, Florida Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida, United States. There are three correctional institutions around the town. The first Florida State Prison was established in the Raiford area. Union Correctional Institution holds the state death row f ...

Execution

Following the execution of

Jessie Hoffman Jr. Jessie Dean Hoffman Jr. (September 1, 1978 – March 18, 2025) was an American convicted murderer who was sentenced to death in Louisiana for the 1996 rape and murder of Molly Elliott. On November 26, 1996, Hoffman, then 18, abducted the 28-ye ...

on March 18, 2025, James was one of four inmates scheduled to be executed over a three-day period, from March 18 to 20, 2025. The other two were Aaron Gunches of Arizona (executed March 19, 2025), and Wendell Grissom of Oklahoma (executed March 20, 2025). James was executed on March 20 shortly after 8 p.m., with his execution taking place approximately nine hours after Grissom's execution; he was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection. There was a two-hour delay between when James's execution was scheduled to take place and when it was ultimately carried out, although Florida officials did not explain the reason for the delay.

References

Sources