Louis Gaskin
Louis Bernard Gaskin was an American serial killer who was executed in Florida for the 1989 murders of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels in Palm Coast. He was also convicted of the attempted murders of Joseph and Mary Rector, and the murder of Charles Martin Miller in 1986. He was popularly known as the Ninja Killer because he dressed in a full black ninja outfit to avoid identification. He was executed on April 12, 2023, at the age of 56.
Murders
On the night of December 20, 1989, Gaskin walked up to the Palm Coast home of 56-year-old Robert and 55-year-old Georgette Sturmfels with a.22 caliber rifle and wearing a complete black ninja outfit to avoid identification. Gaskin circled the home to the back window, where Robert was sitting in a recliner, and Georgette sat on the sofa. Gaskin fired his gun, shooting Robert five times, killing him, and shooting Georgette once. Georgette was still alive after the first shot, so Gaskin reloaded his gun and shot Georgette in the head, killing her.A few hours later, Gaskin drove up to the home of Joseph and Mary Rector. As the Rectors watched television, Gaskin fired his rifle into the home, hitting Joseph. Joseph was able to run out of the room. Mary and Joseph took cover in a closet until they heard Gaskin smash the back window, so they ran out to the car, where Gaskin started firing at them from inside the house. All of the bullets missed, and the Rectors were able to get in their car and drive away to a nearby hospital. The police were called, and after a search of the home, it was clear the perpetrator had ransacked it.
When the murders became public, Gaskin became a suspect almost immediately after his girlfriend's cousin implicated Gaskin in the killings, saying that Gaskin came home soon after the killings and said he was wrapping some "presents."