Taberon Honie’s final words before Utah execution
Rick Bowmer/AP
A Utah man who killed his girlfriend’s mother by cutting her throat was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning.
Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder for the death of Claudia Benn in 1998 after he broke into her house in Cedar City, repeatedly slashed her throat and stabbed her in other parts of her body.
Benn’s grandchildren were also in the house at the time of the attack. The judge who sentenced Honie to death found that he had sexually abused one of the children, which was one of the aggravating factors.
The Utah Department of Corrections said that the lethal injection was administered at 12.04 a.m. MDT, and he was pronounced dead at 12.25 a.m.
Honie’s final words were as follows, according to the department: “From the start it’s been, if it needs to be done for them to heal, let’s do this.
“If they tell you you can’t change, don’t listen to them. To all my brothers and sisters here, continue to change. I love you all, take care.”
Honie’s final meal was a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake, Utah Department of Corrections said.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
