A Florida man convicted in a series of suspected killings known as the "Hog Trail Murders" in the 1990s is scheduled to be executed. Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was sentenced to death for the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery. Montgomery's body was discovered in a wooded area of southwest Florida, where authorities found the remains of at least six people over a three-year period.
Conahan has maintained his innocence and has been identified as a person of interest in other deaths, but he has never been charged in those cases. He argues that the evidence against him is circumstantial. Conahan is set to die by lethal injection in Florida, which has executed 15 people this year under Governor Ron DeSantis.
Conahan was arrested in July 1996 after a lengthy investigation into a series of homicides in Charlotte County, north of Fort Myers. The case garnered significant media attention as more bodies were discovered, leading to the moniker "Hog Trail Murders" due to the locations of the bodies. The first body was found in February 1994, with additional remains uncovered over the next three years.
Investigators believe that the killer targeted homeless men. Conahan came under suspicion after a man in prison for stealing his car claimed that Conahan had attempted to lure him to a remote area. This led to further inquiries, including a similar case in Fort Myers where a victim reported being tied to a tree and nearly strangled by a man offering money for nude photos.
Conahan was initially charged with attempted murder and later with Montgomery's death. He waived his right to a jury trial and was convicted by a judge in August 1999. Although he was never charged with other murders, a sheriff's office report indicated that all victims found within a 10-mile radius were likely killed by the same individual.
In 2007, a land survey crew found eight bodies in Fort Myers, with similarities to the Charlotte County victims. Conahan was identified as a person of interest but was not charged in those cases.
The Florida Supreme Court recently denied Conahan's final appeals, including a request for additional DNA testing. The court ruled that proving Montgomery had DNA from someone other than Conahan would not exonerate him. A final appeal is pending before the US Supreme Court.