Bio 

Gregory Alan Kokal was born on February 27, 1963 and endured a highly unstable childhood defined by severe physical and psychological domestic abuse. During the penalty phase of his trial, his mother testified that Kokal’s father physically abused both her and Gregory. She described repeated beatings and stated that, in one incident, Kokal’s father struck him with a tennis racket, causing serious cuts to his head. She also testified that, when Kokal was around eight to ten years old, his father chained him to the foot of a bed and locked him in a room for a week with only sweet potatoes to eat.

Kokal’s parents divorced when he was about 13 or 14 years old. According to his mother’s testimony, his behavior worsened as the abuse in the home increased. By adulthood, he had a documented criminal history and struggled with alcohol and substance abuse. Records also state that after returning to Florida from Arizona in July 1983, his lifestyle involved daily alcohol use.

By September 1983, Kokal was 20 years old and living in Florida. He was associated with William O’Kelly, who later became his co-defendant in the robbery and murder of Jeffrey Russell.

Murder Story

At about midnight on September 29, 1983, Gregory Alan Kokal and William O’Kelly picked up Jeffrey Russell, who was hitchhiking in Duval County, Florida. After Russell entered the vehicle, the men drove to a park in the Jacksonville Beach area. Once at the park, Russell was attacked. Court records state that he was beaten with Kokal’s pool cue and robbed. After the robbery, Russell was forced to walk approximately 100 feet. During the assault, he pleaded for his life before he was beaten unconscious.

Russell was then shot with a .357 revolver. His body was discovered the next day. At first, police publicly reported that he had been beaten to death, but the autopsy later determined that the gunshot wound was the actual cause of death. Investigators kept that information restricted to law enforcement.

The following morning, Kokal was stopped by police after fleeing a gas station without paying while driving O’Kelly’s truck. When asked for identification, he produced multiple documents, including O’Kelly’s Colorado driver’s license, Russell’s New York driver’s license, an Arizona vehicle registration in O’Kelly’s name, and his own Florida license. He was arrested for the gasoline theft, and the truck was seized and inventoried.

During the inventory search, police found the murder weapon and a box of ammunition. Kokal’s fingerprints were found on the ammunition box. At that time, the officer did not yet know Kokal’s connection to Russell’s murder, and Kokal was released.

Later the same day, Kokal told a friend about the robbery and killing. His statement included details that had not been released publicly, including that Russell had been fatally shot. After that information reached authorities, a warrant was issued, and Kokal was arrested for the murder.

Kokal was indicted on October 20, 1983, for first-degree murder. William O’Kelly later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testimony against Kokal. At trial, the prosecution relied on physical evidence, witness testimony, and Kokal’s own statements after the crime.

On October 4, 1984, Kokal was found guilty of first-degree murder. On October 12, 1984, the jury unanimously recommended a death sentence by a vote of 12-0. On November 14, 1984, Judge James L. Harrison sentenced Gregory Alan Kokal to death.

Kokal appealed his conviction and sentence to the Florida Supreme Court. His attorneys challenged several issues, including the use of the heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravating factor and the admission of the murder weapon found during the vehicle inventory search. On July 17, 1986, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed both the conviction and death sentence.

A death warrant was signed on August 25, 1988, but Kokal received a stay while post-conviction litigation continued. Over the following years, he filed multiple state and federal appeals. Those challenges included claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, disputed aggravating and mitigating factors, and later claims connected to newly discovered evidence. The courts rejected or procedurally barred those claims. Gregory Alan Kokal remains under a sentence of death in Florida for the 1983 murder of Jeffrey Russell.