A Florida man convicted in one of a series of suspected killings that became known as the “Hog Trail Murders” in the 1990s is scheduled Thursday to become the 15th person executed in the state this year .
Later, detectives learned about a case with similarities in Fort Myers, in which a victim claimed a man who offered cash for nude photos had tied him to a tree and attempted to strangle him. Conahan was arrested and charged with attempted murder, and several months later was also charged in Montgomery’s death. Conahan was arrested in July 1996 after local and state law enforcement officials spent more than two years investigating a series of homicides in which mutilated and decomposing bodies were discovered in a wooded area of Charlotte County, north of Fort Myers. Conahan waived his right to a jury trial and was convicted by a judge of murder and kidnapping in August 1999. Conahan was never charged with any other homicides, but a sheriff’s office report about the investigation concluded that all of the victims discovered within a 10-mile radius were likely killed by the same person.
The Florida Supreme Court last week denied Conahan’s final appeals, including one requesting additional testing on DNA collected from the victim. The court ruled that proving Montgomery had DNA on his body from someone other than Conahan wouldn’t exonerate him. The U.S.
Supreme Court on Thursday denied his final appeal.
