In Florida’s 15th execution this year, man put to death for killing
linked to ‘Hog Trail Murders’
[September 11, 2026]
By DAVID FISCHER
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted in one of a series of
suspected killings that became known as the “Hog Trail Murders” in the
1990s was put to death Thursday, becoming the state’s 15th person
executed this year.
Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after
receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near
Starke. He had been sentenced to die for the 1996 kidnapping and
strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, whose mutilated body was found
in a wooded southwest Florida area where authorities found the remains
of at least six people over a three-year span.
Conahan was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the
curtain to the death chamber went up at 6 p.m. A spiritual adviser was
at his feet and prayed throughout the process.
The team warden asked Conahan if he had any final statement, and Conahan
replied, “No sir.” The deadly drug cocktail began to flow at 6:01 p.m.
Conahan began to pant and then twitch briefly before going still.
Several minutes later, the warden shook Conahan and shouted his name but
there was no response.
A medic entered the death chamber at 6:11 p.m. to check for vitals, and
Conahan was declared dead a minute later.
Conahan died in the nation’s busiest death chamber. Florida has carried
out more than half the 25 total executions in the U.S. so far this year
under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who leaves office in January.
Conahan was identified by authorities as a person of interest in the
other deaths, but he was never charged. He argued the evidence against
him in Montgomery's death was circumstantial.
Multiple bodies found in popular hunting area
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.
As the number of bodies increased, so did media coverage. The deaths
eventually were dubbed the “Hog Trail Murders” because of the swampy,
wooded locations where the bodies were found. The case has been featured
many times over the past three decades on true-crime television shows,
YouTube channels and podcasts.
Hunters found the first body in February 1994, and at least five more
were discovered over the next three years. While most of the remains
were severely decomposed, investigators believed Montgomery was found
within 24 hours of his death. Investigators eventually determined the
killer was targeting homeless men.
Investigators found similarities in cases
Detectives started looking into Conahan in 1996 after a man in prison
for stealing Conahan’s car claimed Conahan had lured him to a remote
area and offered to pay him to pose for nude photos. The man said he
drove off in the car after seeing a knife.
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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 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 (16-kilometer) radius were
likely killed by the same person.
In 2007, a land survey crew discovered eight bodies in Fort Myers.
The four victims identified by authorities were homeless, and
officials said they all suffered similar injuries to the Charlotte
County victims. Investigators at the time publicly identified
Conahan as a person of interest, but he was never charged.
One relative of a Hog Trail victim says her family would
celebrate Conahan's death
According to corrections officials, 11 victim family members
attended Thursday's execution, but the officials wouldn’t say if
they were relatives of Montgomery or of Conahan’s other suspected
victims.
Joan Rodemann, the sister of a Hog Trail victim named William
Melaragno, released a written statement saying that her family would
celebrate Conahan's death.
“Finally, the gates of HELL will open and you can join the other
soulless spawns of the devil. Sadly, you won’t feel the pain or fear
you horrifically brought onto your victims,” Rodemann said. “Our
prayers are for the victims and their families.”
Florida leads the way in executions
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led
the way with 19 lethal injections, a state record since the death
penalty was reinstated in 1976.
In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state
in nearly a decade to do so. Another Florida execution is planned
shortly, that of Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, on Sept. 29. Beasley was
convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer and stealing her
car in 1995.
All Florida executions are by injection of a sedative, a paralytic
and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of
Corrections.
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