Ohio executes 1992 killer of two people

LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A man convicted of killing two people in back-to-back robberies in suburban Cleveland in 1992 was executed Wednesday as family members of his victims looked on.

The prison system announced the time of death for Gary Otte as 10:54 a.m. after the administration of three lethal drugs at the southern Ohio prison in Lucasville.

Otte, 45, was sentenced to die for the Feb. 12, 1992, killing of Robert Wasikowski and the Feb. 13, 1992, killing of Sharon Kostura. Otte was 20 when he killed Wasikowski and Kostura.

Witnesses on Wednesday included the daughter and brother of Wasikowski and the sister, brother-in-law and niece of Kostura.

In his final statement, Otte professed his love for his family, sang a Christian hymn and quoted the Bible. He stopped singing at 10:39.

Otte’s stomach rose and fell several times between 10:41 and 10:42. Two members of the state execution team did a consciousness check at 10:42. Otte’s stomach rose and fell for a few more minutes, then he appeared to go still.

Defense attorney Carol Wright said she believes the rising and falling of Otte’s chest and tears she saw on his face while the first drug, the sedative midazolam, was administered indicated that he “was feeling pain or sensations.”

However, prisons spokesman JoEllen Smith said the execution was carried out without complication.

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