A nearly 40-year-old saga will come to an end with Thursday night's scheduled execution of Duane Owen, who murdered Karen Slattery, a 14-year-old babysitter in Delray Beach, and Georgianna Worden, a 38-year-old mother of two, in 1984.
Barring a last-minute stay of execution, Owen will receive a lethal injection that ends his life, thus concluding a protracted legal fight.
Here is a glance at the murderer, victims and key players in Owen's lengthy litigation history.
Duane Owen: The convicted murderer
Born Feb. 13, 1961, Duane Owen grew up in the Midwest, raised by alcoholic parents and an abusive father, testimony in court revealed. After his mother died and his father committed suicide, Owen lived in a Michigan orphanage until he was 18, at which time he traveled throughout the country before making his way to South Florida, where his brother lived, in 1982. That same year, he was arrested on burglary charges, beginning a series of run-ins with law enforcement. From 1982 to 1984, Owen was arrested on various charges, including attempted murder and sexual battery. But it would be his 1984 charges in the deaths of Karen Slattery and Georgianna Worden that ultimately led to him becoming a longtime resident of the Florida Department of Corrections. His defense team recently argued that Owen was insane and therefore shouldn't be executed for his crimes.
Karen Slattery: The 14-year-old victim
Karen Slattery was a 14-year-old freshman at what was then known as Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton when she was murdered by Owen in 1984. Slattery was babysitting two children when Owen broke in, stabbed her multiple times and then sexually assaulted her. The children Slattery was babysitting were unharmed. Her body was exhumed, with the permission of family members, in 1991 so that prosecutors could, ahead of Owen's retrial, compare wounds on her body with a knife believed to have been the murder weapon. In the aftermath of her death, the Karen Slattery Education Research Center for Child Development at Florida Atlantic University was established. However, it was permanently closed during the pandemic.
Georgianna Worden: The 38-year-old victim
A 38-year-old mother of two, Georgianna Worden was asleep in her Boca Raton home in 1984 when Owen broke in, grabbed a hammer and bludgeoned her to death. Her children were home at the time but unharmed. At the time of her death, Worden was an instructor at the College of Boca Raton, which would later become Lynn University.
Richard Burk: The first circuit court judge
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Richard Burk twice sentenced Owen to die for his crimes – first for the murder of Slattery and again for Worden's murder. Burk ruled that Owen's confession could be used at Owen's first trial for Slattery's murder. It was that confession that ultimately led to a retrial in 1999. Burk retired in 1998 but continued to work as a senior judge as recently as 2015. He died in 2019 at the age of 87.
Harold Cohen: The second circuit court judge
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Harold Cohen presided over Owen's 1999 retrial for Slattery's murder. He concurred with a jury's 10-2 recommendation that Owen be executed and sentenced Owen to death. Reading from his sentencing order, Cohen said he considered Owen's tortured childhood. "Nevertheless, he was not so sick that he was unable to become mean, calculating, cruel and evil – a wicked person who now deserves to die."
Kevin McCoy: The Boca Raton police sergeant
Now retired, Kevin McCoy was a lieutenant with the Boca Raton Police Department when Owen was arrested in 1984. McCoy was among the investigators to interview Owen about the murders of Slattery and Worden. It was his line of questioning that ultimately led Owen to confess to the crimes. "We just couldn't eliminate him," McCoy, who rose to the rank of sergeant, recalled to WPTV. McCoy said he remembers thinking at the time of Owen's arrest that he was "glad he's off the street." But he still believes Owen may be responsible for other unsolved killings. "There may be more homicides out there," he said.
Rick Lincoln: The Delray Beach police lieutenant
Rick Lincoln was the detective credited with helping to link Slattery's murder to Owen. "No homicide is routine, but this one was just so compelling," Lincoln told WPTV, remembering it as "a heinous crime." He worked closely with McCoy, who was investigating Worden's murder, as they discovered similarities in the crimes. A lieutenant at the time, Lincoln rose through the ranks, eventually became a major and even served as interim police chief in 1990 before leaving for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in 1996. After serving as the county's director of law enforcement, Lincoln became Lantana police chief before retiring in 2010. He is now living in Georgia.
Sandra Kabboush (McSorley): The prosecutor
Sandra Kabboush successfully prosecuted Owen in his 1985 and 1986 murder trials. She was able to dissuade a jury from believing the defense's claim that Owen's confession was a fabrication. Then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed her to serve as a Palm Beach County circuit court judge in 2000. She retired from the bench in 2015.
Michael Salnick: The defense attorney in the first Slattery murder trial
Michael Salnick is a longtime Palm Beach County defense attorney who represented Owen in his 1985 murder trial. Salnick told WPTV he was "a baby lawyer" when he was appointed by Burk to defend Owen. "At trial, there was overwhelming evidence," Salnick said. "There was the confession. There was physical evidence. You know, we argued reasonable doubt." His co-counsel was Barry Krischer, who went on to become Palm Beach County's elected state attorney.
Craig Boudreau: The defense attorney in the Worden murder trial
Craig Boudreau was appointed by Burk to represent Owen in his 1986 murder trial. Boudreau attacked the police investigation during the trial and claimed Owen's confession was merely a ploy to seek attention and notoriety. Before the trial, Owen complained that a conflict of interest existed because Boudreau was a former assistant state attorney who shared a townhouse with a prosecutor. Boudreau sought to withdraw from the case, but Burk denied the motion. His co-counsel was Don Kohl, who would later become a Palm Beach County judge.
Carey Haughwout: The assistant public defender in the second Slattery trial
Before becoming Palm Beach County's elected public defender in 2001, Carey Haughwout was a longtime assistant public defender who was involved in capital cases when she represented Owen in his 1999 retrial. She told WPTV that Owen is "a very complicated man" who has "some very severe mental illness." She described Owen as "really bright, inquisitive, kind" and believes his mental illness should preclude his execution. "I don't think killing helps prevent killing," she said.