Gov. Ron DeSantis has started the countdown on Florida's death row for William Frances Silvia, a Seminole County man convicted of murdering his estranged wife at her mother’s Casselberry-area home in 2006. The governor’s death warrant sets an execution by lethal injection with an initial date of Aug. 18 and a seven-day window to carry it out. Silvia, now 61, was sentenced to die after a jury recommended the death penalty by an 11-1 vote.
According to News4JAX, the warrant gives the state an execution window from noon Aug. 18 to noon Aug. 25. The sentence is scheduled to be carried out at Florida State Prison in Starke by lethal injection. The outlet reports, citing the News Service of Florida, that Silvia now joins other condemned prisoners with imminent dates, including James Aren Duckett and Dominick Occhicone, whose executions are set for July 28.
What court records say about the shooting
According to a Florida Supreme Court opinion, Silvia bought a 12-gauge Mossberg Persuader shotgun about five hours before the Sept. 22, 2006, attack. He then went back to the Woodard family home and fired seven rounds, one into the air and the rest into the carport and house.
His estranged wife, Patricia Silvia, was hit in the head and died at the scene. Her mother, Betty Woodard, was shot in the face and survived, but with devastating injuries, including the loss of her left eye and the top of her nose. Court documents also recount Silvia telling officers that he shot Patricia because "she spent all my money" and that she had started seeing an ex-husband again.
Legal history and next steps
Court records show that Silvia’s death sentence became final on June 6, 2011, after years of appeals and post-conviction litigation. The jury that recommended the death penalty did so by an 11-1 vote, according to Florida Supreme Court filings.
A 2018 decision from the high court addressed procedural claims raised in the case, and with the governor’s new warrant in place, the Department of Corrections now has a one-week period in which to set an exact execution date and time. Defense attorneys still have room to maneuver, and they can file additional motions in state and federal court seeking stays or other relief before that window closes.
Where this fits into Florida's recent execution activity
Silvia’s date comes as Florida leans hard on its death row calendar. The state carried out a record 19 executions in 2025, and two more inmates are set to die July 28 in what has become an unusually busy stretch, according to The Washington Post.
Observers say a combination of aging inmates, new testing and a flurry of fast-moving warrants from DeSantis has produced one of the most active execution schedules the state has seen in years. As Silvia’s window approaches, lawyers on both sides are expected to sprint through last-minute filings, any of which could pause or reshape the timeline before the prison warden locks in the exact hour.
