Chadwick Banks was put to death for the murders of his wife, Cassandra Banks, and his 10-year-old stepdaughter, Melody Cooper, whose bodies were found inside their home in Gadsden County, Florida.
In 1991, Cassandra met Chadwick through her uncle, who worked with him at the Fiberstone Quarries, where they built doors and fireplace frames.
About a year later, on July 27, 1992, they were married—it was Cassandra’s second marriage and Chadwick’s first.
They lived together in a two-bedroom mobile home in Quincy, about 20 miles west of Tallahassee, with Cassandra’s daughter.
Melody was a fifth-grade student at George W. Munroe Elementary School, and she wasn’t too fond of Chadwick, which is why she didn’t want to go to their wedding, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
It was reported that relatives thought Melody was jealous of the new man in her mother’s life, but they uncovered that there was another explanation for her abhorrence for Chadwick.
Several of Melody’s friends told detectives that she told them that “her stepdaddy was messing with her in a sexual way,” and she told them to remain tight-lipped about it.
They obliged, but they broke their promise after she was murdered.
On the morning of Sept. 24, 1992, Melody and her mother were found dead inside their home. Cassandra, who had turned 30 five days earlier, was still in her bed, and her daughter was found on her knees, slumped over her bed.
Melody was naked from the waist down.
The following day, Chadwick confessed to the murders after he was arrested at his job. He was booked into the Gadsden County Jail on charges of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of sexual battery on a child under 12.
Chadwick was already on probation for two aggravated assault charges.
An investigation revealed that the night before the murders, Cassandra went to Dut’s Place, where Chadwick, who was 21 years old at the time, was playing pool.
Shortly before 2 a.m. on Sept. 24, 1992, witnesses saw them arguing outside of the pool hall. Cassandra headed home shortly thereafter, and within an hour, Chadwick followed suit.
When he arrived, authorities said he went into the bedroom where his wife was sleeping and shot her in the head with a .32 caliber revolver. He then went to Melody’s bedroom and raped her before shooting her in the head.
The St. Lucie News Tribune reported that Chadwick told detectives that he “spanked Melody and molested her for 20 minutes, but she didn’t resist or try to get away.”
It turned out, however, that the assault was far more violent than he described. Melody was sodomized and had Chadwick’s blood under her fingernails as well as on her pillows.
She sustained bruising and a cut on her face during the assault.
Chadwick’s DNA was also found inside Melody.
Experts testified that Melody was shot at the top of her skull, which indicated to them that after the assault, he pulled her head back and opened fire.
After the murders, Chadwick went to a relative’s house, where he hid the gun and slept for several hours before heading into work.
An officer with the Quincy Police Department stated in 1992 that “it was one of those gruesome things that happened in the community that had everyone in shock.”
“It was a small town and a huge case. They just couldn’t believe such a thing could happen in a small town.”
Chadwick pleaded no contest to the crimes, and he claimed that he was drunk at the time.
During the trial, the court stated that Chadwick “bought between five and seven 16-ounce malt liquors” while he was at the bar within five to six hours before the murders occurred.
Prosecutors stated that “drunkenness was not recognized by law as a mitigating factor,” and they also noted that Chadwick was able to drive home and let himself inside.
In 1994, a Gadsden County jury found Chadwick guilty and recommended the death penalty. The judge approved and later sentenced him to death.
Chadwick made two attempts to appeal his sentence, but they were denied by the Florida Supreme Court.
The court then called the murders of Cassandra and Melody “heinous, atrocious, and cruel,” which they said was enough to “warrant death.”
Several weeks before Chadwick was to be put to death, his attorney submitted a stay of execution, claiming that his “post-conviction counsel did not have the resources, staff, or experience to take on capital litigation.”
The stay of execution was denied.
Chadwick apologized to the victims’ families for “hurting and disappointing” them for many years.
He said, “Year after year, I have tried to come up with a reasonable answer to my actions, but how could such acts be reasonable?”
On the morning of his execution, Nov. 13, 2014, Chadwick ordered his last meal: fried fish, hush puppies, french fries with banana pudding, red velvet cake, and butter pecan ice cream as his dessert.
He also requested iced water.
At 7:27 p.m., Chadwick was pronounced dead after being executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke.
He was 43 years old.