Grace Reed, a woman from Clay County, Florida, was tragically murdered on April 18, 1983. Her death was part of a horrific crime committed by Michael Alan Durocher, who was later convicted of multiple murders. Reed, along with her 5-year-old daughter, Candice, and her 6-month-old son, Joshua, were killed in what was initially intended to be a murder-suicide pact between her and Durocher.
However, Durocher ultimately backed out of the pact and instead carried out the killings himself.
The crime took place over the Thanksgiving weekend in 1983, when Durocher and Reed drove to a remote area in Clay County. There, Durocher shot Reed’s young daughter in the back and stabbed the infant son, whom Reed had claimed was his child. In a later letter to Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, Durocher admitted that he killed Reed because he was irritated by her insistence that the baby was his, stating that he saw her as a "nuisance" that needed to be eliminated.
The murders remained undiscovered for several years, only coming to light in 1989 when Durocher was sentenced to death for an unrelated killing—the 1986 shotgun slaying of Jacksonville store owner Thomas Underwood. During his trial, Durocher confessed to the murders of Reed and her children, as well as the killing of his former roommate, Eddie D. Childers, in 1988. Childers was beaten with a hammer, doused in gasoline, and set on fire.
Durocher was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for his crimes. He was executed in Florida’s electric chair, known as "Old Sparky," on August 25, 1993. His execution was notable because he actively sought the death penalty, writing to Governor Chiles to request that justice be served swiftly. He refused to appeal his sentence and insisted that no legal challenges be made on his behalf.
The case of Grace Reed and her children remains a chilling example of domestic violence and premeditated murder. The brutality of the crime, coupled with Durocher’s lack of remorse, made it one of the more infamous cases in Florida’s history.
