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Florida Executes Man Who Took Sleeping 6-Year-Old, Violated Her, And Drowned Her In Canal
WARNING: This story includes disturbing details that some readers may find upsetting.
A man has been executed by lethal injection in Florida for the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl in 1979.
Bryan Fredrick Jennings became the 16th person to be executed by the state this year and was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. on Thursday.
Jennings, then 20 and on leave from the Marine Corps, dislodged the screen of Rebecca Kunash’s bedroom window in the early hours of May 11, 1979, in Brevard County.
- Bryan Fredrick Jennings was executed by lethal injection in Florida for the 1979 rape and murder of 6-year-old Rebecca Kunash.
- Jennings was convicted after three trials; his initial convictions were overturned due to legal issues and Supreme Court intervention.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has overseen more executions in one year than any other governor since 1976, including Jennings' case.
Bryan Fredrick Jennings was executed for killing and raping Rebecca Kunash
Image credits: Google Maps
Investigators said he covered her mouth so that her parents would not hear her scream and then kidnapped her, driving to a nearby canal, where he raped and drowned her.
“He raped Rebecca, swung her by her legs to the ground with such force that she fractured her skull, and drowned her while she was still alive,” court documents said.
Rebecca’s body was found in the canal the following day.
Investigators linked Jennings to the crime after he was taken to the Brevard County jail following an arrest on a traffic warrant. He was seen to match the description of a man in the neighborhood around the time of Rebecca’s abduction.
His fingerprints were found on the windowsill, and his wet clothing and shoes corroborated the timeline of events, according to court records.
Image credits: Florida Department of Corrections
Although Jennings reportedly confessed to fellow inmates, an initial confession was suppressed due to procedural violations during questioning.
Jennings was tried and convicted three different times for the crime, after his first two convictions were overturned.
His first conviction was overturned in 1980 due to a conflict of interest in his defense, and a second death sentence was later vacated following U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny.
It was only after a third trial in 1986 that his conviction was upheld.
Jennings was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree felony murder, kidnapping with intent to commit sexual battery, sexual battery, and burglary, as per court records.
He spent nearly four decades on death row amid repeated appeals.
Legal challenges, including petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied, and the execution went ahead as planned
Image credits: Find a Grave
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Jennings’ death warrant on October 10, 2025, scheduling his execution for November 13.
Legal challenges, including petitions to the Florida and U.S. Supreme courts, were denied, and the execution went ahead as planned.
When asked if he wished to give a final statement, Jennings said “no,” according to media reports.
“The execution took place without incident. There were no complications,” Jordan Kirkland, Florida Department of Corrections spokesperson, told AP.
DeSantis has carried out more executions in a single year than any other governor in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
With two additional executions planned before the end of the year in Florida, the total could reach 18 for 2025.
“There’s a saying: justice delayed is justice denied,” DeSantis recently said in Jacksonville, The Guardian reported.
“We’re doing it to be able to bring justice to the victims’ families and I think it’s important. I’ve had people, you know, sometimes they’ll come to the office after and you can just see after decades the weight that’s kind of been lifted … They never fully had closure on, and these are really horrific crimes that are happening, so that’s really why we’re doing it.”
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