Articles by Chris Spargo

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Man Convicted of Raping, Murdering Neighbor Is Florida's Record 15th Execution This Year

A Florida man convicted of raping and murdering his neighbor became the 15th person executed this year by Florida on Tuesday evening, a state record. Norman Grim, 65, received a lethal injection at the Florida State Prison after being sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Cynthia Campbell on July 27, 1998. The body of Campbell, a lawyer who lived next door to Grim, was found in the waters off a pier in Pensacola by a fisherman just hours after her death. An autopsy determined that she had been "hit with a blunt instrument, perhaps a hammer, 18 times about the head, fracturing her skull," according to a copy of a 2001 appellant brief filed in the case and obtained by PEOPLE. The brief also noted that Campbell "had been stabbed at least 11 times, with seven of those wounds being to the heart" and had a "large laceration" on her genitalia. Deputies with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office soon found multiple pieces of evidence linking Grim to the crime. Grim had repeatedly asked Campbell to join him for a cup of coffee on the day of her murder, including in front of a police officer who had been called to the lawyer's home early that morning when someone threw a lug nut through her window. She declined. Grim left and a short time later a tree branch suddenly snapped off and hit Campbell's car, at which point Grim returned and asked Campbell to join him for coffee once more. This time she accepted, and the police officer left. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. When Campbell failed to show up for work, police returned to her home and then spoke with Grim, who said he had not seen his neighbor and then fled from the scene, quickly losing a police officer who attempted to follow him. An eyewitness saw him soon after on the pier where Campbell's body was discovered with his car trunk and doors open, according to the brief. Once Campbell's body had been taken out of the water, deputies were able to match fabrics, rope and tape found at Grim's home to those found on the victim. He entered a not guilty plea at trial but was convicted of murder and sexual battery in December 2000, at which time he opted against calling any mitigating witnesses at his sentencing hearing. He did file appeals in his case but said at a hearing earlier this week that he would not seek an emergency stay of his execution from either the Florida or U.S. Supreme Court.