TALLAHASSEE — A man convicted of raping and murdering a woman 32 years ago in St. Petersburg lost a bid Wednesday for a stay of his execution next week.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected arguments by 65-year-old Robert Waterhouse that he should be spared because of testimony from a newly discovered witness and the destruction of physical evidence that made it impossible to perform DNA testing that could exonerate him.
Waterhouse's execution by lethal injection is Wednesday.
The former plasterer and drywall worker was convicted of beating 29-year-old Deborah Kammerer with what was believed to be a tire iron and then leaving her to drown in Tampa Bay..
The justices concluded the new testimony was unreliable and wouldn't have been enough to acquit Waterhouse if he were to be retried.
Waterhouse's lawyer, Robert Norgard has said he likely file federal appeals for a stay.
