Steven Howard Oken (January 29, 1962 – June 17, 2004) was an American

spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

who raped and murdered three women in Maryland and Maine in November 1987. He was sentenced to death and executed in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

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 ...

in 2004.

Murders

On November 1, 1987, Steven Oken, then 25, murdered 20-year-old Dawn Marie Garvin (''nee'' Romano). She was found by her father on the bed in her White Marsh apartment, naked, with a condiment bottle protruding from her

vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

and blood streaming from her forehead. Despite efforts of her father and paramedics to administer

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...

, she was dead. An

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

later revealed that she had died as the result of two contact gunshot wounds; one of the bullets entered at her left eyebrow and the other at her right ear. Less than two weeks after Oken murdered Dawn Garvin, he

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexua ...

and murdered his sister-in-law, 43-year-old Patricia Antoinette Hirt, at his White Marsh townhouse, dumping her body along White Marsh Boulevard. He then fled to

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of ...

, where he murdered 25-year-old Lori Ward, the desk clerk at the motel in which he was staying.

Trials and execution

He was arrested in Maine on November 17, 1987, and was ultimately convicted and sentenced to

life without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

for the murder of Ward. Oken was then returned to Maryland where he faced separate prosecutions for charges arising out of the other two murders. Oken was found guilty and sentenced to die for the killing of Dawn Garvin in 1991. Following his conviction for Garvin's murder Oken pleaded guilty to killing Patricia Hirt, and received an additional life sentence. Then- Governor Robert Ehrlich declined clemency and on June 17, 2004, at 9:18 p.m. local time, Steven Oken was pronounced dead after his

execution 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 ...

at the

Metropolitan Transition Center The Maryland Metropolitan Transition Center (MTC), formerly known as the historic "Maryland Penitentiary", is a maximum pre-trial security Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services prison located in Baltimore facing Greenmo ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

at age 42. His

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

was a chicken patty, with potatoes and gravy, green beans, marble cake, milk, and fruit punch – the regular prison meal that day.

Personal life

Oken was adopted by a Jewish family, and attended Randallstown High School where he graduated in 1980. He stole drugs from his adoptive father's

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

and was drinking heavily.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oken, Steven 1962 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century executions by Maryland 21st-century executions of American people American people executed for murder American people convicted of rape Executed people from Maryland People convicted of murder by Maine People convicted of murder by Maryland People executed by Maryland by lethal injection People from Baltimore County, Maryland Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Maine Violence against women in Maryland Violence against women in Maine

Murders

Trials and execution

Personal life

See also

References