Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 1998 death of Claudia Benn.
A Utah man who killed his girlfriend’s mother by cutting her throat was put to death by lethal injection early Thursday in the state’s first execution since 2010.
Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 1998 death of Claudia Benn.
Honie was 22 when he broke into Benn’s house in Cedar City after a day of heavy drinking and drug use and repeatedly slashed her throat and stabbed her in other parts of her body.
Benn’s grandchildren, including Honie’s then 2-year-old daughter, were in the house at the time.
The judge who sentenced him to death found that Honie had sexually abused one of the children, one of the aggravating factors used to reach that decision.
Honie’s last meal before his execution was a cheeseburger, french fries and a milkshake, Utah Department of Corrections said. Honie spent the evening with his family before the execution.
Outside the prison, a group of anti-death penalty protesters held signs that said, “All life is precious” and prayed and sang “Amazing Grace.
