Richard Henyard

Infobox Criminal
subject_name = Richard Henyard

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image_size = 200px
image_caption =
date_of_birth = birth date|1974|06|26
place_of_birth =
date_of_death = death date and age|2008|09|23|1974|6|26
place_of_death =
education =
occupation =
spouse =
motive =
conviction = Double murder
penalty = Death penalty
status = Executed
parents =
children =

Richard Henyard (June 26, 1974 – September 23, 2008) was an American murderer on death row in Florida, USA, convicted for the double murder of 7-year-old Jamilya Lewis and 3-year-old Jasmine Lewis in January 1993 in Eustis, and the rape of the sisters' mother during the same day. [http://off2dr.com/modules/extcal/event.php?event=221] Henyard was sentenced to death on August 19, 1994, and had been in lockdown. Henyard's death warrant was signed on June 9, 2008. [http://tcadp.net/2008/07/09/richard-henyard-death-warrent-signed/] Henyard was the 66th execution in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.

Henyard was executed on September 23, 2008, by lethal injection. The execution was delayed by two hours as Henyard had two appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court trying to block the execution; both were denied. [http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7491239&version=12&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1]

Crime

On the evening of January 30, 1993, [http://www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/index-henyard.cfm] Dorothy Lewis and her daughters arrived at the Winn-Dixie. As Lewis, the eventual survivor, and her daughters, the victims, were entering the Winn-Dixie, she noticed a few people sitting on a bench near the doors. After Lewis exited the store with Jamilya, age 7, and Jasmine, age 3, she walked to her car and proceeded to place her daughters in the front passenger seat. As Lewis crossed the rear of the car to get to the driver’s side, she noticed Alfonza Smalls approaching her. As Smalls neared, he revealed a gun tucked into his waistband. Lewis and her daughters were ordered into the back of the car as Smalls and Henyard entered the front. The Lewis car left town with Henyard driving and Smalls issuing directions. Prior to the abduction of Lewis and her daughters, a female witness observed Henyard and Smalls loitering outside of the Winn-Dixie. During the drive, Smalls repeatedly demanded that Lewis keep her daughters quiet since they were crying and upset. Later, Henyard pulled the car over at a remote area and pulled Lewis from the car. Henyard forced Lewis against the trunk and raped her. Smalls then raped Ms. Lewis. Henyard told Lewis to sit on the ground. She hesitated, and Henyard shot her in the leg and forced her to the ground. She was also shot by Henyard three more times at close range and was wounded in the mouth, neck, and on the forehead between the eyes. After she was unconscious, Henyard and Smalls rolled her over to the shoulder of the road. Lewis survived and several hours later regained consciousness and went to a nearby house for help. The occupants contacted the police and Lewis collapsed and waited for the officers to arrive. As Henyard and Smalls drove away from the scene of the shooting, Jamilya and Jasmine Lewis repeatedly asked for their mother. Henyard pulled the car over after a short period of time and removed the girls from the car. Henyard and Smalls took the girls away from the road, out of the clear view of passers by, and killed both Jamilya and Jasmine with a single bullet to the head. [http://www.topix.com/forum/news/death-penalty/TRS82GTJBSV96V79J] Henyard and Smalls then threw their bodies into some brush over a fence. Smalls, Henyard, and a third individual arrived at the home of Bryant Smith in a blue car. Henyard proceeded to boast about raping Lewis and his mistaken belief about her subsequent murder. He also showed Smith the gun that was used. Later in the evening, Henyard went by the Smalls’ residence where Colinda Smalls, Alfonza’s sister, noticed blood on Henyard's hands. He explained that the blood was from a minor knife accident. On January 31, the next day, Henyard's aunt, Linda Miller, agreed to drive Henyard to Small's residence so that Henyard could speak with Smalls. Henyard made a trip to the Eustis Police Department that same Sunday claiming to have information concerning the Lewis case. He offered knowledge of the crime, and claimed that he was present at the scene of the crime. Henyard’s initial story pointed to Smalls and another individual as the perpetrators. However, when an officer noticed blood spots on Henyard’s socks, he admitted to the abduction, rape, and shooting of Lewis, yet maintained that he did not shoot the Lewis girls. The police apprehended Smalls and discovered the murder weapon after a search of his bedroom. The autopsies of the girls confirmed that they were killed by a single gunshot wound at close range and that Jasmine’s eyes were open when she was shot. Analysis of the blood spots indicated that Henyard was less than four feet from the victims when they were shot.

Post mortem of victims

The autopsies of Jasmine and Jamilya Lewis showed that both girls died of gunshot wounds to the head and were shot at very close range. Powder stippling around Jasmine’s left eye, the site of her mortal wound, indicated that her eyes were open when she was shot. One of the blood spots discovered on Henyard’s socks matched the blood of Jasmine Lewis. “High speed” or “high velocity” blood splatters found on Henyard’s jacket matched the blood of Jamilya Lewis and showed that Henyard was less than four feet from her when she was killed. Smalls’ trousers had “splashed” or “dropped blood” on them consistent with dragging a body. DNA evidence was also presented at trial indicating that Henyard raped Ms. Lewis.

References

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