Florida Inmate Executed for 1980 Killing

STARKE, Fla. (AP) _ A man who killed a 10-year-old girl he snatched off her bike as she rode to school has been executed in Florida.

The governor’s office said 59-year-old Larry Eugene Mann was pronounced dead at 7:19 p.m. Wednesday after a lethal injection at the Florida State Prison near Starke.

Mann kidnapped Elisa Vera Nelson on Nov. 4, 1980, as she headed to school in a Tampa suburb after a dental appointment.

Mann took the girl to an orange grove, cut her throat and beat her.

Mann then went home and tried to kill himself by slashing his wrist, telling the responding police officers he had “done something stupid.”

Days later, Mann’s wife found a bloodied note that Elisa’s mother had written to explain why she was late for school.