Bio

Newton Carlton Slawson was born on October 10, 1954. He grew up in North Carolina and had a troubled childhood. As a child, Slawson suffered from several serious head injuries, which had lasting effects on his mental health. He struggled with seizures throughout his life, which likely contributed to his challenges.

Slawson's upbringing was marked by difficulties, including experiences of abuse. He later developed a history of drug and alcohol use. These factors combined with his early injuries made it tough for him mentally. He exhibited signs of paranoia and delusions as he got older, leading to complicated relationships with those around him.

Slawson served in the Navy, where he received some psychological help for his issues. He was advised to channel his aggressive tendencies through art, specifically by drawing but instructed not to associate these drawings with anyone. This method was aimed at controlling his violent thoughts without harming others.

Murder Story

On April 11, 1989, in Hillsborough County, Florida, four members of the Wood family were killed in their home. The victims were Gerald Wood, Peggy Wood, and their two children, Jennifer, age 4, and Glendon, age 3. Peggy was pregnant, about eight months along.

Newton Carlton Slawson went to the Woods' residence with a .357 revolver and a six-inch knife. Initially, he placed the gun in the bathroom at Gerald's request to keep it away from the children. During the visit, Gerald offered to sell Slawson some crack cocaine, but Slawson declined.

When Peggy expressed concern that Slawson might be a police officer, he left to retrieve his gun from the bathroom. Upon returning, an altercation occurred where Slawson shot Gerald and, according to his statement, may have shot Peggy at that time. He then went to the children's bedroom and shot both children while Peggy was screaming.

After killing the children, Slawson returned to the living room and shot Peggy again. He used his knife to cut Peggy’s abdomen, claiming later it was an attempt to save the unborn child. The fetus was eventually found with gunshot wounds and lacerations.

After the killings, Peggy managed to crawl to her mother's home nearby. She told her mother, "Newton did it," before she died. Slawson was arrested later that night. A bloody knife and the murder weapon were found in his car, along with other items that linked him to the crime.

Slawson was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of killing an unborn child by injury to the mother. He was convicted and received death sentences for each murder, along with a 30-year sentence for the manslaughter of the unborn child. The court found the murders especially heinous and cruel, considering the circumstances of the attack.

On May 15, 2003, Slawson was executed by lethal injection. Prior to his execution, he had waived his appeals and pursued the death sentence himself. He made no final statement and was pronounced dead shortly after the execution began.