Florida’s 'Hog Trail Murders' suspect scheduled to die Thursday
Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. is scheduled to be executed on Thursday in Florida. Image is courtesy of the Florida Department of Corrections.
STARKE, Fla. - A Florida death row inmate linked to the "Hog Trail Murders" was scheduled Thursday to die by lethal injection for the 1996 kidnapping and murder of Richard Allen Montgomery.
Florida death row execution
What we know:
Florida scheduled 72-year-old Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. for execution by lethal injection Thursday. A judge convicted Conahan in August 1999 for the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery. Search crews found Montgomery's mutilated body in a wooded area in southwest Florida.
Law enforcement officials spent more than two years investigating a series of homicides where mutilated, decomposing bodies turned up in a Charlotte County wooded area north of Fort Myers. The first body was discovered by hunters in February 1994, followed by at least five more over the next three years. Media coverage dubbed the cases the "Hog Trail Murders" due to the swampy locations.
Investigators determined the killer targeted homeless men. Detectives focused on Conahan in 1996 after a man imprisoned for stealing Conahan's car reported that Conahan offered him money to pose for nude photos in a remote area. Detectives then connected a similar Fort Myers case where a man said someone offered cash for nude photos, tied him to a tree and tried to strangle him. Conahan was initially arrested for attempted murder before being charged in Montgomery's death.
Unsolved Florida serial killings
What we don't know:
Conahan maintained his innocence and was never charged with any other homicides, though he remains a person of interest in additional deaths. A sheriff's office report concluded that one person likely killed all the victims found within a 10-mile radius.
In 2007, a land survey crew found eight bodies in Fort Myers. Officials identified four homeless victims who suffered similar injuries to the Charlotte County cases and identified Conahan as a person of interest. Officials have not confirmed if any other suspect will ever face charges for the remaining deaths.
Legal appeals and state executions
What's next:
The Florida Supreme Court denied Conahan's final appeals, including a request for additional DNA testing on evidence from the victim. The court ruled that finding another person's DNA on Montgomery would not clear Conahan.
A final appeal remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida carried out 19 executions in 2025, setting a state record since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Associated Press, which reported on court records, state execution schedules, and law enforcement reports.