Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed his 15th death warrant for 2026. This one is for Daniel Owen Conahan, Jr., convicted of the 1996 Charlotte County kidnapping and murder of Richard Alan Montgomery.
Prosecutors say Conahan, a.k.a. the “Hog Trail Killer,” lured Montgomery out to a remote location to pay him for nude photographs. County workers found his body the next day. “Ligature marks found on Montgomery’s body and other evidence found at the scene indicated that Montgomery had been tied to a tree and strangled,” the death warrant said.
Conahan was linked to the murders of five other men in a three- or four-year period.
His execution will come nine days after the scheduled death of Harold Gene Lucas, convicted of the 1976 murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Jill Piper, and 23 days after the execution of William Silvia, convicted of the 2006 shooting murder of his wife, Patricia.
Since the beginning of 2025, DeSantis has launched a relentless flurry of death warrants, leading to a record 19 executions in Florida last year. The state has kept the same pace in 2026 with 12 men put to death so far, and three more scheduled.
When is Daniel Owen Conahan, Jr. scheduled to be executed?
Daniel Owen Conahan, Jr. is scheduled to die by lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Who did Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., kill?
Daniel Owen Conahan, Jr., 72, was 45 and an unemployed nurse when prosecutors said he picked up Montgomery, 21, of Port Charlotte, and lured him into the woods in northern Charlotte County to take nude bondage photos with the promise of a few hundred dollars.
Montgomery’s body was found a day later wrapped in carpet padding, court records show. Investigators were in the woods because county workers found the decomposing remains of another man later identified as Kenneth Smith.
Conahan was arrested in February 1997 and accused of raping Montgomery, strangling him and cutting off his genitals to eliminate DNA tracing.
While Conahan was charged only in Montgomery’s death, investigators linked him to five other deaths since 1993, all found naked, with strangulation marks around their necks.
The first body found was discovered in 1994 by hog hunters in northern Charlotte County. The last body was discovered April 17, 1996, when a government employee found a severed human head in the woods.
Investigators began looking at Conahan after a man named Stanley Burden filed a police report in Fort Myers, claiming Conahan tied him to a tree and assaulted him in 1994.
Conahan maintained his innocence. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping. A sexual battery charge was dropped for lack of evidence.
A jury unanimously recommended a death sentence.
Conahan’s death penalty appeals
Multiple appeals have failed in the courts.
His latest was procedurally barred on July 14 and is currently pending appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this story.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: DeSantis signs death warrant for Florida’s ‘Hog Trail Killer’
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
