Killer who staged baby kidnapping to cover up his gruesome crimes finds out when he will be put to death
An execution date has been set for a Florida man who killed his girlfriend’s baby and tried to cover it up.
Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was sentenced to death for the murder of five-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw in February 1996.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed his ninth death warrant this year for Lukehart, who will now die by lethal injection on June 2, 2026.
Lukehart, who was 22 at the time, tried to change Gabrielle’s diaper, but when she wouldn’t lie flat, he “repeatedly forcibly pushed her head and neck to the ground,” killing her, according to court records obtained by News4Jax.
The killer then disposed of the child’s body in a nearby pond and fled the scene.
About 30 minutes later, he called his girlfriend and claimed someone had kidnapped the girl and he was chasing them.
Lukehart told police that Gabrielle had been snatched from the front of his partner’s home, but he contradicted his own statement and later claimed the kidnapping took place in a store.
He eventually admitted to the heinous crimes and the murder of the child.
Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, was sentenced to death for the murder of five-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw in February 1996
Lukehart, who was 22 at the time, tried to change Gabrielle’s diaper, but when she wouldn’t lie flat, he “forcefully pushed her head and neck into the floor repeatedly.”
Lukehart told the court he “freaked out” after realizing the baby had stopped breathing
During his trial, Lukehart testified, telling jurors that he treated the baby so violently that she stopped breathing, causing him to “freak out.”
“I got scared, panicked, ran outside, threw away the diaper, jumped in my car, started it and took off,” he said.
‘I felt bad. I felt guilty,” he added.
After an hour and a half, the jury found Lukehart guilty. A month after his conviction, in March 1997, the jury voted 9–3 in favor of the death penalty.
When he heard the verdict, an eerily stoic Lukehart sat in the courtroom as his family caused a scene – his mother became distraught and ran from the courtroom screaming.
The death penalty follows another Florida killer who was executed Thursday after killing his brother’s stepdaughter 50 years ago.
James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, was convicted in 1976 of strangling and beating 13-year-old Cynthia Driggers to death.
Hitchcock was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison at approximately 6:12 p.m. after Governor Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on March 30.
After an hour and a half, the jury found Lukehart guilty
Lukehart’s girlfriend told the newspaper at the time that she wanted the death penalty for her ex
Last year, 47 people were sentenced to death and executed in the US.
Florida had the most executions, while Alabama, South Carolina and Texas all ranked second with five executions each by 2025.
In Florida, all executions are carried out by lethal injection, in which a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart are all administered to the subject, according to the Department of Corrections.