On April 12, 2023, the state of Florida carried out the execution of Louis Bernard Gaskin, a convicted double murderer whose crimes had haunted Flagler County for more than three decades.
At 6:15 p.m., Gaskin was pronounced dead by lethal injection at Florida State Prison. He was 56 years old.
To the public, he became known as the “Ninja Killer” — a nickname born from the all-black clothing he wore during a brutal night of violence in December 1989. But behind that name was a case defined not by myth, but by fear, bloodshed, robbery, and the destruction of an innocent couple inside their own home.
A Quiet Florida Night Turns Deadly
On December 20, 1989, Robert Sturmfels, 56, and his wife, Georgette Sturmfels, 55, were at their home in Flagler County, Florida.
It was just days before Christmas.
What should have been a quiet holiday season became a nightmare when Louis Gaskin entered their property armed with a rifle.
According to prosecutors, Gaskin was dressed in black, wearing clothing that later led investigators and the media to compare him to a ninja.
He shot and killed Robert and Georgette Sturmfels inside their home.
The attack was not only violent — it was cold and deliberate.
After the murders, Gaskin stole items from the couple’s home. Authorities later said some of the stolen property was intended to be given as Christmas gifts.
That chilling detail became one of the most disturbing parts of the case.
More Victims in the Same Night
The violence did not end with the Sturmfels murders.
That same night, Gaskin also attacked another couple, Joseph and Mary Rector, at a nearby home.
The Rectors survived, but they were shot at during the crime spree. Gaskin was later convicted of attempted murder and other charges connected to that attack.
The surviving victims helped investigators understand the scope of what had happened that night.
This was not a single impulsive killing.
It was a deadly rampage driven by robbery, violence, and complete disregard for human life.
The Trial and Death Sentence
In 1990, Louis Gaskin was convicted of the murders of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels.
A Florida court sentenced him to death.
For more than three decades, Gaskin remained on death row while his case moved through appeals and post-conviction challenges.
His attorneys argued against the execution, but the courts ultimately allowed the sentence to proceed.
In March 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Gaskin’s death warrant, setting his execution date for April 12, 2023.
Final appeals to stop the execution failed.
Final Hours at Florida State Prison
On the evening of April 12, 2023, Gaskin was led to the execution chamber at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
After 33 years under a death sentence, his case reached its final chapter.
He was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m.
For the families of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels, the execution marked the end of a legal battle that had lasted nearly a lifetime.
But no execution could restore what was taken in 1989.
A Case Remembered for Its Cruelty
The case of Louis Gaskin remains one of Florida’s most notorious death penalty cases.
It was remembered not only because of the “Ninja Killer” nickname, but because of the cruelty of the crime itself: an armed intruder dressed in black, a couple murdered inside their home before Christmas, stolen property taken from the victims, and another couple nearly killed the same night.
For decades, the name Louis Gaskin remained tied to one of the darkest nights in Flagler County history.
And on April 12, 2023, Florida closed the case in the most final way the law allows.
