Bio 

Robert Dwayne Morris was born on March 3, 1963. Florida Department of Corrections records list him as Robert D. Morris, DC number 550026. The same records show several aliases, including Robert Dewayne Morris, Robert Dwayne Morris, Robert Dwayne Watson, Little Rob Morris, and Peaches Morres. As of the Florida DOC record current to May 10, 2026, Morris remains incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution under maximum custody with a death sentence.

Before the murder of Violet Livingston, Morris had already been convicted of robbery in Missouri. During the penalty phase of his Florida trial, the State presented evidence that he had two 1989 robbery convictions from Missouri. One of those robbery cases involved a purse-snatching in which the victim suffered a fractured wrist. Morris was on parole for those Missouri convictions when Violet Livingston was murdered in Florida.

Morris’s defense presented background evidence during sentencing. His family members testified about difficult conditions from his childhood. A clinical psychologist also testified that Morris had learning disabilities, borderline-to-dull-normal intelligence, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and evidence of frontal-lobe brain damage. The court considered these issues as mitigation, but still imposed a death sentence after finding that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigation.

Murder Story

On the morning of September 2, 1994, Violet Livingston’s son found her body inside her Lakeland, Florida apartment. She was 88 years old. Police found her lying on the bedroom floor between two beds. Her head was tightly wrapped in bed sheets, blood was visible on the walls and furniture, and her walking cane was found on one of the beds. Both bedrooms were in disorder, showing signs of a struggle.

Investigators found evidence that someone had entered the apartment through the kitchen window. The window screen had been removed and was leaning against the outside of the building. The window itself was closed, but the glass had been broken. A yellow chair had been placed beneath the porch light, and the light cover had been removed and placed on the ground.

The medical examiner found that Livingston died from multiple injuries. She had bruises, cuts, abrasions, broken ribs, a brain hemorrhage, and mechanical asphyxia caused by suffocation. Some injuries were consistent with being beaten with her walking cane. She also had neck injuries consistent with strangulation and defensive wounds on her arm, hand, and knee. The medical examiner testified that Livingston was alive during the early part of the attack.

The State’s case against Morris relied on several main types of evidence. DNA testing showed that Morris could not be excluded as the source of DNA found on two locations on Livingston’s body and on a kitchen curtain. A fingerprint matching Morris was found on a partially unscrewed light bulb outside the kitchen window. Police also found items belonging to Livingston in and around Morris’s residence, including coin wrappers, coin booklets, a coin sorter, and a television. Witnesses from nearby businesses identified Morris as the man who spent rare coins that had belonged to Livingston.

Morris testified in his own defense. He denied killing Livingston or breaking into her apartment. He admitted that he had gone to the apartment complex and unscrewed the porch light bulb, but said he was trying to steal a bicycle and left when he found it locked. He also claimed that he later found a paper bag containing coin-related items and spent some of the coins. The jury rejected his explanation.

Morris was indicted on September 29, 1994, for first-degree murder, burglary, sexual battery, and armed robbery. He pleaded not guilty on October 4, 1994. The sexual battery count was later separated from the other charges, and a judgment of acquittal was entered on that count before the murder trial ended. On March 4, 1999, Morris was found guilty of first-degree murder, burglary, and armed robbery.

On March 11, 1999, the jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 8 to 4. The trial court found several aggravating factors, including that the crime was committed while Morris was on parole, that he had prior violent felony convictions, that the murder was committed for financial gain, and that the killing was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The court sentenced Morris to death for first-degree murder and to life imprisonment for burglary and armed robbery.

Morris appealed to the Florida Supreme Court. On February 21, 2002, the court affirmed his convictions for first-degree murder, burglary, and armed robbery, and also affirmed his death sentence. The court reviewed the evidence and rejected his claims regarding excluded defense testimony, juror contact, mitigation issues, jury instructions, and proportionality of the death sentence.

Morris also pursued post-conviction relief. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of his post-conviction motion and denied his habeas petition. His death sentence therefore remained in place. As of the current Florida Department of Corrections record, Robert Dwayne Morris remains incarcerated under a death sentence at Union Correctional Institution.