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Summary: Virgie Langford, 70, was fatally stabbed and strangled during a robbery at her grocery store in Palmetto, Florida, on June 16, 1986. The assailant, Melvin Trotter, then 25, stole cash and food stamps before fleeing. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder in 1987 and executed by lethal injection on February 24, 2026, at age 65, following decades of appeals, reports say.
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STARKE, Fla. (DailyKenn.com) — Florida prison officials put to death a man convicted of fatally stabbing a 70-year-old grocery store proprietor during a robbery nearly four decades ago, marking the state's second lethal injection this year.
Melvin Trotter, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday following the administration of a three-drug cocktail at Florida State Prison. Authorities said he declined to make a final statement, appearing calm as the process began. Court records show Trotter awoke early that morning, received one visitor, and requested a last meal consisting of fish, cornbread, cake and soda.
The case dates back to June 16, 1986, when Trotter entered Langford's Grocery Store in Palmetto, a small community near Tampa Bay. Prosecutors said he waited until the last customer departed before approaching the cash register and taking approximately $100 along with food stamps. Virgie Langford, the store's owner who had run the business for five decades and was nearing retirement, was in the back room slicing meat at the time.
According to trial testimony, Trotter then grabbed a butcher knife from the premises and attacked Langford, strangling her and inflicting seven stab wounds that caused severe internal injuries. A passing truck driver discovered her bleeding on the floor but still conscious. Emergency responders reported that Langford provided a description of her assailant, noting his build and a work badge from Tropicana bearing the name "Melvin," before she succumbed to cardiac arrest while being transported for surgery.
Investigators later recovered a shirt stained with blood matching Langford's type from Trotter's residence, along with his palm print on a cooler in the store. Authorities noted that Trotter, who was under house arrest for a prior burglary and struggling with crack cocaine addiction, used the stolen funds to purchase drugs shortly after the incident.
A jury convicted Trotter of first-degree murder in 1987, recommending the death penalty. He received a capital sentence that year, but the Florida Supreme Court ordered a resentencing due to procedural issues with aggravating factors. In 1993, another jury again endorsed execution, and the court imposed the death penalty once more.
Defense attorneys pursued multiple appeals, arguing intellectual impairment based on early evaluations and contending that Trotter's substance use clouded his intent. They also claimed his advanced age should preclude capital punishment. The Florida Supreme Court rejected those challenges last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied a final stay hours before the execution.
Langford, a mother of four remembered by relatives as a hardworking woman who served her diverse neighborhood without prejudice, left behind a family that had long sought closure. One daughter told reporters at the time of the conviction that her mother "didn't deserve to die like that," while another expressed hope for swift justice. Community members in Palmetto, where the store had been a fixture for generations, voiced relief after the prolonged legal saga, with some noting the execution brought a sense of finality to a crime that shocked the tight-knit area.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the death warrant in January after a record-setting 19 executions the previous year, did not comment on the case. Prison officials reported no complications during the procedure.
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