BONNE TERRE, Mo. – A Missouri man who killed the woman he was having an affair with and her husband in 2009 was put to death late Tuesday afternoon.
David R. Hosier, 69, died via a lethal dose of pentobarbital. The execution was carried out just after 6 p.m. on June 11 at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. He was declared dead at 6:11 p.m., according to a Missouri Department of Corrections statement.
Two days before his execution, Hosier released his last statement: a direct quote from the New Testament.
6. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand,
7. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day.
2 Timothy 4:6.7.8
Final statement of David Hosier, courtesy of the Missouri Dept. of Corrections
The Associated Press received a separate statement from Hosier through his spiritual advisor, Rev. Jeff Hood.
Hosier was served his final meal around 11 a.m., which consisted of a New York strip steak, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, Texas toast, a Dutch apple pie, orange juice, and milk.
Hosier was convicted on Oct. 23, 2013, of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, armed criminal action, and possession of a firearm for the murder of Angela Gilpin. He was sentenced to death on Nov. 26, 2013, with jurors believing he was also responsible for Rodney Gilpin’s murder.
Both Angela and Rodney Gilpin were gunned down near the doorway to their Jefferson City apartment in September 2009. David Hosier admitted that he and Angela had an affair earlier that year but said Angela broke it off to reconcile with her husband.
Hosier was later arrested in Oklahoma after authorities tracked his cellphone. Police found more than a dozen guns and 400 rounds of ammunition, along with other weapons. A note was also in the vehicle, which read, in part, “Be honest with them if there is something wrong. If you do not this could happen to YOU!!”
Hosier claimed he was taking a long drive to clear his head and denied he was fleeing the state. He said the weapons in his car were for hunting. He also had no recollection of the note.
Governor Mike Parson rejected a clemency petition by Hosier’s attorneys on Monday, paving the way for Tuesday’s execution. The appeal focused on Hosier’s father, a former Indiana State Police sergeant, being killed in the line of duty in 1971 when David was just 16. David Hosier went on to spend four years in the U.S. Navy and eventually became a firefighter and EMT in Jefferson City.
Parson, a former county sheriff, has not granted clemency for capital punishment during his tenure as governor. In a statement confirming the state would carry out the sentence, Parson said Hosier has not shown remorse for killing Gilpin or her husband.
‘Ms. Angela Gilpin had her life stolen by David Hosier because he could not accept it when she ended their romantic involvement. He displays no remorse for his senseless violence,” Governor Parson said. “For these heinous acts, Hosier earned maximum punishment under the law. I cannot imagine the pain experienced by Angela’s and Rodney’s loved ones but hope that carrying out Hosier’s sentence according to the Court’s order brings closure.’
Hosier murdered Angela and Rodney Gilpin at their apartment in Jefferson City, Missouri, in a jealous rage. Hosier, with a decades-long history of violence against women, would not let Angela reconcile with Rodney, stalking and harassing her for weeks before murdering her and her husband. Hosier then fled but was apprehended with the help of law enforcement in Oklahoma to answer for his crimes. Although Hosier did not receive an additional conviction for murdering Rodney, the jury in Angela’s trial determined that Hosier murdered both victims, as it related to Hosier’s sentence. No court has ever found any error in Hosier’s case.
Gov. Mike Parson
Hosier’s attorneys said they had no other appeals pending. For his part, Hosier disagreed with his lawyer’s tactic of focusing on childhood trauma in the appeal. Hosier believed the appeal should have centered on the lack of fingerprint or DNA evidence and no eyewitness testimony.
The Missouri Supreme Court previously upheld Hosier’s conviction in 2019.
Hosier is the second person executed in Missouri this year. In April, Brian Dorsey was executed for killing his cousin and her husband in 2006.
Missouri’s next execution is scheduled for Sept. 24. Marcellus Williams is slated to be put to death for the 1998 fatal stabbing of Lisha Gayle.
Williams, 55, was hours away from being executed in August 2017 when he received a reprieve from former Governor Eric Greitens, who requested an investigation based on possible new DNA evidence not yet available at the time of the trial. DNA tests show the DNA on the murder weapon matches someone else and not Williams.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has filed a motion to vacate the conviction, per a 2021 Missouri law. However, a hearing date on the motion has not been scheduled.
The Missouri Supreme Court set the Sept. 24 execution date earlier this month and affirmed Parson’s right to dissolve a board of inquiry established six years ago to examine Williams’ case. The board of inquiry, comprised of five retired judges, could not reach a definitive conclusion on the matter.