Florida Man to Witness Execution of Mother’s Killer 36 Years After Brutal 1990 Murder, Recounts Her Final Words

John Sather, whose mother was murdered in September 1990, is about to witness his mother's murderer being executed. In a recent interview with USA Today, Sather said, "I love you, Mom, that's my last word to her. She also replied by saying, 'I love you too, John.' "

On September 5, 1990, Marlys Sather walked into her home to find a neighbor burglarizing it.

The accused, a 24-year-old, was later identified as Chadwick Willacy.

About a week before Marlys Sather was murdered, she spent a joyful day with her loved ones. It was her son, John Sather's, 32nd birthday. The family had gathered at their Orlando-area home to celebrate the occasion. Marlys, along with the family, feasted on homemade chicken and dumplings and cheesecake before she had to drive back to her home in Plant City, Florida.

Marlys was still grieving the death of her husband, who had died just six weeks before of liver cancer. She was returning home from work and walked into a burglary instead. According to court documents, the accused showed no mercy to the victim.

Willacy bludgeoned her, tied her up and strangled her with a cord until she gave him her PIN, according to the court documents. He took her car, drove to the bank, withdrew money from her account and returned to the house. Upon his return, he then disabled the smoke detectors, doused her in gasoline, placed a fan against her feet and then set her on fire, as per court records. The autopsy report showed that the victim died of smoke inhalation, indicating she was set on fire while she was still alive.

A jury later found Willacy guilty of first-degree murder, burglary, robbery and arson. A judge sentenced him to death at the recommendation of the jury. His death sentence was later vacated, but a jury in 1997 again recommended his execution, and another judge agreed.

Now, more than 36 years later, the state of Florida is set to execute Willacy. He said to be executed on April 21 by lethal injection. Willacy is said to be the 8th inmate who has been put to death in the U.S. so far this year. Willacy will also be the fifth person executed in the state of Florida this year, which is reportedly a record-breaking pace.

Willacy has pleaded not guilty from the very beginning. He has always denied committing the murder, and his request for a stay of the execution from the U.S. Supreme Court is pending because Florida's lethal injection process is shrouded in secrecy. Meanwhile, Sather's only plan is to witness the execution and says that he is ready for the legal ordeal to be over.

"I want to make sure that I see the warden say he's deceased," John Sather said. "I want to make sure mom gets justice for somebody coming in and steadying her life in a couple of heartbeats," he added.