A quiet evening for a New Jersey couple wintering in their Florida home was shattered by an act of unimaginable and random violence that left two people dead and a community in fear. Georgette Sturmfels, a 55-year-old female, and her husband, Robert, 56, were relaxing in their Palm Coast house on December 20, 1989, when they became the victims of a man who would come to be known as "The Ninja Killer."
The couple was unwinding for the evening, Robert in a recliner and Georgette on the sofa, completely unaware that a killer was circling their home.
That night, Louis Bernard Gaskin, dressed entirely in a black ninja outfit to conceal his identity, parked his car in a wooded area and approached the Sturmfels' residence armed with a.22-caliber rifle. Peering through a window, he watched the couple before opening fire. Gaskin shot Robert multiple times through the glass. As Georgette tried to flee the room, he shot her as well. The attacker then broke into the home and, to ensure they were dead, shot both Georgette and her husband in the head before covering their bodies with blankets.
After murdering the couple, Gaskin ransacked their home, stealing cash, jewelry, lamps, a clock, and a videocassette recorder. He intended to give the stolen items to his girlfriend as Christmas presents. His night of terror was not over. Gaskin then proceeded to the nearby home of Joseph and Mary Rector. After failing to lure them outside, he shot Joseph Rector through a window. Despite Joseph's injury, the Rectors managed to escape in their car as Gaskin fired at them and drive to a hospital.
The investigation quickly focused on Louis Gaskin. He was arrested on December 30, 1989, after his girlfriend's cousin, who had received the stolen items, informed the police. Gaskin confessed to the murders, stating his choice of victims was completely random. He also admitted to another murder committed in 1986. In a taped confession, he spoke of having urges to kill and told a psychologist before his trial, "The devil had more of a hold than God did. I knew that I was wrong. I wasn't insane."
In July 1990, after a two-month trial, a jury found Gaskin guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels. He was also convicted of armed robbery, armed burglary, and the attempted murder of Joseph Rector. The jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of eight to four, and the judge imposed two death sentences. Gaskin spent more than three decades on death row, filing numerous unsuccessful appeals.
On April 12, 2023, more than 33 years after he murdered the Sturmfels couple, Louis Bernard Gaskin was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison. He was 56 years old, the same age as Robert Sturmfels when he was killed. None of the victims' relatives attended the execution. In the years leading up to the execution, one of his surviving victims expressed that the death warrant was not a favor, but rather stirred up painful memories.
Following years of legal proceedings, the execution brought a final, somber end to the case. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, commenting on the long-delayed sentence, said, "It is about time this man will finally face the consequences of his actions and sentence. He waited on death row for way too long for the sentence to be carried out. I pray the victim's family will finally get justice and closure for their murdered loved ones and their family." The brutal, senseless murders of Georgette and Robert Sturmfels remain a dark chapter in the history of Palm Coast, a chilling reminder of a random predator who turned a peaceful evening into a scene of horror.
