Man who killed Florida inventor and his wife becomes record 13th inmate executed in state

A Florida death row inmate who fatally stabbed a noted inventor and his wife during a robbery in Miami has become the 13th man executed in the state this year, a record.

Victor Tony Jones, 64, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, Sept. 30, for the 1990 murder of Jack and Dolly Nestor, who were 67 and 66, respectively. Before he succumbed to a stab wound to the heart, Jack Nestor shot Jones in the head, though the wound proved to be non-lethal.

The Nestors raised two children and were grandparents of four when they were killed. They never got to meet any of their eight great-grandchildren.

Jones, who was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. ET, is now the 34th inmate executed in the U.S. this year, the highest number of annual executions in the nation since 2014.

Among the witnesses to the execution was Irene Fisher, the Nestors' only daughter.

“After seeing what I saw tonight, I wish my parents had that opportunity to die so gracefully, close your eyes and just go,” she told reporters afterward, according to the Associated Press. “They were violently killed. My father fought for 20 minutes with a stab wound in his heart, and my mother died instantly in the bathroom on a cold floor.”

Here's what to know about the execution, who Jack and Dolly Nestor were and more about the brutal crime.

Victor Tony Jones' last meal, last words

Jones, who declined to say last words just before the execution, ate a last meal of fried chicken, collard greens and sweet tea, according to AP.

What was Victor Tony Jones convicted of?

On Dec. 19, 1990, less than a week before Christmas, a man the Nestors had hired for the day attacked the couple at their shop in Miami, where he built his creations as an inventor and sculptor and she acted as secretary. Victor Tony Jones first struck out at Dolly, stabbing her in the neck and leaving her to die when she declined to pay him because he wasn't finished with a job, according to court records, which indicated drugs played a significant factor.

Jones then tracked down Jack Nestor, who was able to shoot Jones in the forehead before he died of a stab wound to his heart.

A UPS driver came upon the crime scene and called police, who found the Nestors dead and Jones suffering from the gunshot wound. He had the couple's wallets, keys and other belongings in his pockets, court records say.

"At the hospital, Jones admitted to a nurse that he killed the couple because they owed him money," one court filing says.

The Nestors' daughter, Irene Fisher, told USA TODAY earlier this week that her dad was in the habit of hiring someone in need for day jobs.

"My father was very well known in the neighborhood if somebody needed help with something," she said. "He'd give people jobs out of the kindness of his heart."

Jones' attorneys have argued that he had too low of an IQ to understand that his actions were wrong.

Who were Jack and Dolly Nestor?

Jack and Dolly Nestor, whose legal names were Jacob and Matilda, both came from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, and were high school sweethearts, according to Fisher.

They raised their kids in Brooklyn and eventually became grandparents of four before they escaped the winter weather and moved south to Florida.

On top of creating art that included a sculpture displayed in Miami's federal building, Nestor accumulated at least two dozen patents for medical devices over the years. Among them: a device to transplant leg arteries, another to chisel the middle bone of a nose, a special knife used in hair transplants and a prosthetic aimed at overcoming male impotence, according to the Herald.

Fisher said her father loved "The Honeymooners" television show and was a lot like Jackie Gleason's thunderous character in the show, but added that Dolly could dish it out just as well as her husband could.

Shaina Nestor, one of the couple's granddaughters, said that her family was "shellshocked" by the murders. Hit particularly hard was her father, Michael Nestor, who became a hero on Sept. 11, 2001, when he directed an upper floor of the North Tower of World Trade Center to evacuate and carried a physically challenged woman most of the way out of the building before it collapsed.

Shaina said the whole family was extremely close, spending every Christmas together and traveling between New York and Florida as much as possible.

Shaina said she treasures one-on-one time spent with her grandmother dishing at the hair salon and going to the theater. And she'll never forget her grandfather's sarcasm, constant jokes and megawatt smile.

Fisher said the Nestors were "a spectacular mother and father" and fully supported her and her brother's dreams of making it to Broadway. (They both made it, her as a swing dancer and him as a dancer in productions including "West Side Story.")

"Our parents insisted that we follow our dreams. Whatever our dreams were, they were there to help us," she said. "They were extraordinary ... It was a very, very happy home."

When is the next execution?

Eight executions are on the books in October, starting on the 10th.

Between Oct. 10 and 17 alone, six inmates are set to be executed in the following states: Indiana, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and Arizona.

Among the most notable is the Oct. 16 execution in Texas of Robert Roberson, who won a rare stay of execution last year after a bipartisan fight to spare his life over serious questions about his guilt.

Jones' execution was Florida's 13th of the year, a record being driven by Gov. Ron DeSantis signing more death warrants than ever before. Previously the most amount of executions Florida carried out in a single year was eight.

Florida has at least two more executions scheduled before the end of the year.

Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers executions for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man who killed Florida inventor and his wife becomes record 13th inmate executed in state

Reporting by Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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