One of Florida’s oldest death row inmates has been executed, more than four decades after murdering an 18-year-old woman he met at a New Year’s Eve party. 

Dennis Sochor, 74, was executed Tuesday at Florida State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 6.16pm after receiving a three-drug lethal injection. 

He was convicted of killing Patricia Gifford on January 1, 1982, just hours after meeting the 18-year-old woman at a New Year´s Eve party. 

According to authorities, his brother told police that Sochor was responsible for Gifford’s disappearance, and Sochor later confessed on tape to choking her and disposing of her body. 

At the scheduled 6pm execution, Sochor was strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm as the curtain to the death chamber opened. The warden asked whether he had any last words, and Sochor said he did. 

In his final statement, he repeatedly apologized to the Gifford family, saying he was ‘deeply sorry’ and expressed gratitude to his own loved ones for standing by him. 

He then commended his spirit to Jesus Christ shortly before the lethal drugs began flowing at 6.03pm. Sochor breathed heavily for roughly a minute and briefly sputtered before becoming still. 

After about two minutes without movement, the warden looked into his eyes, shook his shoulders and called his name. A medic was then summoned, and Sochor was officially pronounced dead.

Dennis Sochor, 74, was executed Tuesday at Florida State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 6.16pm after receiving a three-drug lethal injection

Marilyn Gifford, Patricia’s sister, said after witnessing the execution that Sochor’s death brought the family some closure, though it was bittersweet because Patricia’s body has never been found.

‘He had 45 years to return Patty´s remains to us, but he cruelly chose not to,’ Gifford said, reading from a statement. 

‘We never got a chance to lay her to rest in God´s arms. Without closure, every happy memory of Patty is immediately crushed by the tragedy of her murder.’ 

Gifford also pointed out that Sochor spent more than twice as many years on death row as her sister was alive. 

‘Tonight´s execution was appropriate because Dennis Sochor was a lifelong brutal and sadistic man,’ she said.

Florida executed another 74-year-old inmate just last month, only a week younger than Sochor. Now, the state is preparing to execute an 80-year-old later this month, a first for Florida. 

Court records reveal that Gifford was celebrating the New Year with a friend at a Fort Lauderdale-area bar when she met Sochor and his brother. The group spent hours talking before Gifford’s friend became ill and went to sleep in her car. 

Investigators said Gifford then left with Sochor and his brother to get breakfast, but he instead drove to a secluded area and attacked her.

The back-to-back executions highlight the growing age of death row inmates and Florida’s unusually active death chamber. The state has carried out 10 of the 16 executions nationwide this year – more than every other state combined.