Serial killers and true crime

A Florida inmate was put to death Thursday, nearly three decades after the murder of 17-year-old Lynn Elliott, whose failed escape attempt ended a string of rapes and slayings that shook the quiet coastal town of Vero Beach.

David Alan Gore, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. Thursday after receiving an injection at the Florida State Prison, officials said.

Asked if he had a final statement, Gore said as he lay strapped to a gurney: “Yes, I do.”

“I want to say to the Elliott family, I am sorry for the death of your daughter. I am not the man I was back then, 28 years ago. I am a Christian. Christ lives within me. I hope you all can find peace today,” Gore said.

Making no eye contact with the family, he added that he hoped the family could “find it in their hearts to forgive me” and concluded: “I don’t fear death.”

After watching Gore die, Carl Elliott, Lynn’s father, said he planned to celebrate. He also scoffed at Gore’s final statement.

“He said he was a Christian. You know what I said to myself? ‘I condemn your soul to hell, sir,'” Elliott said. “He had it easy compared to my daughter.”