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Arizona set to execute a prisoner for the killing of a man set on fire in 2002 attack

Arizona is scheduled to execute Leroy Dean McGill by lethal injection at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence for the July 2002 murder of Charles Perez.
In 2002, McGill threw gasoline mixed with dissolved Styrofoam at Perez and his girlfriend, Nova Banta, in a north Phoenix apartment after they accused him of stealing a shotgun from the duplex.
Banta survived the fire but suffered burns over 75% of her body, while Perez died at a hospital; jurors convicted McGill of murder in 2004 and sentenced him to death during the penalty phase.
Twelve people have been executed across the United States this year, while former Phoenix police homicide detective Tommy Kulesa, who investigated the case, said his focus remains on the victims and their families.
Arizona currently has 109 prisoners on death row, having last applied the death penalty in 2025 with executions of Richard Kenneth Djerf and Aaron Gunches following a nearly eight-year hiatus from execution drug shortages.

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AZCentral

Lean Left

Leroy McGill, man who set victims ablaze in 2002, executed in Arizona

1 hour ago·Phoenix, United States

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KYMA

Center

Arizona man convicted of first-degree murder executed

PHOENIX (KYMA) - The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) says a man convicted of first-degree murder has been executed. According to a press release, 63-year-old Leroy McGill died by lethal injection Wednesday before 10:30 a.m. after a warrant of execution was issued back in March of this year. Back in 2004, McGill was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2002 murder of Charles Perez, where the court sentenc…

2 hours ago

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