Florida executes man who strangled wife, killed woman with hammer in 1988

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A man who murdered a woman in 1988 in Brevard County, Florida, was executed Thursday evening. It was the state’s fifth execution this year.

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James Phillip Barnes, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. Thursday after he was given a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, Florida, Jason Mahon, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Barnes had no final words.

Barnes was given the death sentence for the murder of Patricia “Patsy” Miller, the AP reported.

Barnes was serving a life sentence for strangulating his wife Linda Barnes, 44, in 1997, the AP reported. That was when he reportedly wrote letters to the Florida state prosecutors claiming that he killed Miller years prior at her condo in Melbourne.

Barnes represented himself in court hearings, according to WFTV. He provided no defense and pleaded guilty to killing Miller.

Miller was 41 when she was murdered. In a jailhouse interview, Barnes told film director Werner Herzog that Miller has some “previous unspecified negative interactions” with him, the AP reported.

“There were several events that happened (with Miller). I felt terribly humiliated, that’s all I can say,” Barnes said in the interview, according to the AP.

According to court records obtained by the AP, Barnes told the judge that he broke into Miller’s unit.

“I raped her twice. I tried to strangle her to death. I hit her head with a hammer and killed her and I set her bed on fire,” Barnes said, according to court records obtained by the AP. There was also DNA evidence that linked Barnes to the murder.

Barnes was sentenced to death on Dec. 13, 2007. He also pleaded guilty to sexual battery, arson, burglary with an assault, and battery. Barnes reportedly killed his wife, Linda Barnes, in 1997 after she found out that he was dealing drugs. According to court records obtained by the AP, Linda Barnes was strangled and her body was stuffed in a closet.

Barnes claimed he also killed at least two other people, WFTV reported. He was never charged formally in those cases.