Brenda Mcelyea and Felicia Suzette Smith were killed by Donald Anthony. Continue reading this article to explore the details about them.
Officials reported on Thursday morning that an Oklahoma man who had offered to be killed was put to death via lethal injection.
Donald Anthony Grant, 46, was declared dead in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at 10:16 a.m. CST, according to a state correctional spokesperson.
According to Department of Corrections Director Scott Crow, at 10:03 in the morning, the execution started, and Grant was declared unconscious at 10:08 a.m. before his death at 10:16 a.m.
Who Were Brenda Mcelyea And Felicia Suzette Smith? Wikipedia
Neither Brenda nor Felicia are included on the Wikipedia official page. We do, however, have some information on the victims that could be of interest to our readers.
Donald Anthony Grant, 46, acknowledged assassinating Brenda McElyea, 29, and Felicia Suzette Smith, 43, during a heist in 2001 in order to keep them from identifying him.
The state of Oklahoma has executed Donald Grant. Grant murdered these two women, Brenda McElyea and Suzette Smith, at a Del City motel in 2001 during a robbery. McElyea was from Tulsa. pic.twitter.com/Zp47n0m2o9
— Jonathan Cooper (@JCooperTV) January 27, 2022
Despite pleas to abolish death punishment, the US Supreme Court refused an emergency stay of execution on Wednesday.
Brenda’s family encouraged her to quit her job after being robbed three years ago at one of the chain’s motels in Tulsa. She was shot to death while working temporarily at the La Quinta Inn in Del City.
Brenda McElyea, on the other hand, was not the type of lady who could be scared away, according to her aunt, Sue Webster of Tulsa.
“She was passionate about her work,” Webster added. “The opportunity to meet so many diverse individuals was her favorite aspect of it. Because of what had happened, she was not going to give it up.”
Shirl Pilcher, sister of murder victim Brenda McElyea, read a statement on behalf of the family, thanking state officials and saying “justice was served.”
“I, for one, am ready to remember the beauty of my sister, instead of reliving the brutality of her death.” pic.twitter.com/ajLFeFcb4M
— Jessie Christopher Smith (@jessie_c_smith) January 27, 2022
In February 1998, the 29-year-old was robbed while working as an assistant manager at the La Quinta Inn on 41st Street and Garnett Road.
Donald Anthony Grant Crime & Execution: Everything We Know
Grant brutally killed Brenda McElyea, 29, and Felicia Suzette Smith, 43, so that no one would witness his July 2001 heist at the La Quinta Inn in Del City. There were News reporters, prosecutors, a police chief, and loved ones of Grant and his victims totaling 18 witnesses to the execution.
Grant rambled for more than two minutes when asked if he had a final statement, using words like “Yo, I got this,” “It’s nothing,” and “I’ve done this before.” Grant’s microphone was taken off, yet he continued to talk even as the execution occurred. Tears looked to be streaming down his cheeks at one point.
Oklahoma carries out execution of Donald Grant, who was convicted of murdering Brenda McElyea and Suzette Smith in Del City in 2001.https://t.co/QF4Bu0g9Hl
(Via @nolan50ok and @jessie_c_smith)— Ryan Sharp (@Ryan_M_Sharp) January 27, 2022
Grant was the first person to be executed in the United States this year and the third in Oklahoma since the state resumed capital punishment in October of last year following a six-year hiatus.
Grant and another death row inmate, Gilbert Postelle, had requested a federal judge to grant them a temporary restraining order, postponing their executions until a trial on the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s three-drug lethal injection process could be held.