Born in Alaska on November 6, 1962, Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson grew up in Kettle Falls, Washington, one of several siblings. As a youth, he was diagnosed with ADHD and described as having a "normal childhood". After high school, he worked as a mechanic and security guard before enlisting in the U.S. Army. There, he served as a paratrooper and Army Ranger, including deployment during the Gulf War under Operation Desert Storm. His family reports claim that the traumatic aftermath of combat left him mentally scarred, although he was honorably discharged.

On September 11, 1998, Hutchinson, who lived with his girlfriend, 32-year-old Renee Flaherty, and her three children in Crestview, Florida, became embroiled in a heated argument. He left briefly, declaring himself angry and went to a bar. Witnesses heard him say he was “pissed off” with her. He returned home with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, proceeded to their house, and shot Renee and all three children in the head—Amanda and Logan were found in the bedroom, Geoffrey was found in the living room with two gunshot wounds. 

After the shootings, he placed a call to 911, reportedly saying, “I just shot my family,” and was arrested at the scene. Police recovered the shotgun and found gunshot residue on his hands and Geoffrey’s tissue on his leg.

An Okaloosa County grand jury indicted Hutchinson on October 5, 1998. His trial was delayed multiple times before beginning January 7, 2001. He was found mentally competent to stand trial.

On January 18, 2001, after nine days of testimony, a jury convicted him of four counts of first-degree murder . On February 6, the judge sentenced him to death for the murders of the three children and to life imprisonment plus 40 years for Renee’s murder, rejecting his defense rooted in mental illness and Gulf War syndrome.

Hutchinson launched multiple appeals—in November 2002, July 2004, July 2009, April 2012, March 2018, and June 2022—but each was denied, including challenges regarding new evidence and incompetency.

On April 1, 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Hutchinson’s death warrant for execution and he faced last-minute appeals—including claims of brain damage and Gulf War illness—but all were rejected by various judges and the U.S. Supreme Court. On May 1, 2025, Hutchinson was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison, pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. ET.