Execution day for man who killed over ex-stripper

Larry “Bill” Elliott is scheduled to die in the electric chair today, a month after Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine delayed his execution.

Late Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the execution of the Maryland man.

Elliott, in two separate trials, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the shooting deaths of 25-year-old Dana Thrall and 30-year-old Robert Finch in their Woodbridge town house. He was also twice convicted of first-degree murder in Finch’s death.

Both were shot Jan. 2, 2001 in Finch’s town house in the 3400 block of Jousters Way.

Elliott, according to court documents was romantically involved with former stripper Rebecca Gragg, who shared two children with Finch. Gragg and Finch were in the middle of a bitter a custody dispute for the two boys, then ages four and six, according to court documents.

On the morning of Jan. 2, Elliott entered Finch’s home and fired fatal gunshot wounds into Finch’s head, back and chest, and left him dead on the living room floor.

Neighbors heard the shots and called police, who later found Thrall clinging to life on the kitchen floor.

She suffered three gunshot wounds to her head, one to her chest and a defensive wound to her right hand, according to court documents. She was flown to Washington Hospital Center where she later died.

Police later found Finch’s children upstairs “crying and upset.” They were inside the home when the murders took place, according to court documents.

Elliott, a 59-year-old former Army counterintelligence officer, is the oldest man on Virginia’s death row, and will be the 105th inmate executed in the state since 1982, when the death penalty was reinstated following a national moratorium.

His execution comes exactly one week after Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad was put to death by lethal injection.

“It can happen, but it is rare,” said Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor, speaking about the close proximity of the two execution dates.

In August, Elliott filed a clemency petition with the governor’s office claiming his innocence. Elliott’s initial execution date of Oct. 5 was continued after the governor’s office stated it needed more time to review his clemency petition.

Elliott’s attorneys on Monday did not respond to requests for comment.

A Manassas jury first convicted Elliott of the crimes in 2002, but the verdict was tossed out when it was discovered a juror discussed the case with her husband, an attorney, during the trial.

Another jury trial was held in 2003 where he again was convicted of the crimes.

A statewide organization opposed to the death penalty said there are many inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, including that the murder weapon was never recovered, that Gragg failed her first polygraph test questioning her knowledge of the murders, and reports of DNA evidence that show someone else was inside the home when the murders occurred.

“This case demonstrates some of the flaws within the capital justice system and the problems with state sanctioned killing. There are too many issues within this case that leave doubts about Elliott’s guilt to carry out the execution,” stated Beth Panilatis, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty in an e-mail.

The group will hold a series of statewide vigils and prayer services today to protest the execution, and to remember the victims, stated Panilatis.

Elliott chose the electric chair over lethal injection. He is scheduled to die at 9 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va.

The electric chair is a simple homemade oak armchair with leather straps attached, believed to have been built in 1908, according to information from the Virginia Department of Corrections.

The modern electrical control mechanism was installed when the existing chair was relocated from a penitentiary in Richmond to the Greensville facility in May 1991.

The equipment is designed to deliver electricity in two applications, each lasting one and a half minutes, for a total application of three minutes. There is a slight pause between the two applications and then five minutes after the conclusion of the second electrical application, the attending physician may certify that death has occurred, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Virginia remains second to Texas in the number of prisoners executed since 1977.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.