Florida man scheduled for execution in connection to Hog Trail Murders

By the Editorial Team · Friday, September 11, 2026

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., convicted of a 1996 kidnapping and murder connected to the Hog Trail Murders, is scheduled for execution in Florida after the state Supreme Court denied further appeals. The case, which drew national attention due to the series of killings of unhoused men in the 1990s, highlights ongoing debates over DNA evidence and the application of the death penalty in Florida, which leads the nation in executions this year.

A Florida man convicted of a 1996 kidnapping and murder linked to a series of killings known as the Hog Trail Murders was scheduled for execution on Thursday. Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, whose mutilated body was discovered in a wooded area of Charlotte County, southwest Florida.

Montgomery’s death was one among at least six victims found over a three-year period in remote, swampy locations north of Fort Myers. The victims, mostly unhoused men, were discovered in various states of decomposition between 1994 and 1997. The slayings drew significant local and national attention and became the focus of true-crime media coverage.

Conahan was arrested in July 1996 following a lengthy police investigation that connected him to the murders, though he was charged only with Montgomery’s killing. He has consistently denied involvement, arguing that the prosecution’s case relied on circumstantial evidence. Authorities previously identified him as a suspect in the other deaths but never formally charged him in those cases.

The investigation intensified after a man incarcerated for stealing Conahan’s vehicle came forward, claiming that Conahan had attempted to lure him to a remote location under the pretext of photographing him nude, and that he fled after seeing a knife. Conahan waived his right to a jury trial and was convicted of murder and kidnapping by a judge in August 1999.

Efforts to overturn his conviction through appeals have been unsuccessful. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied multiple appeals, including a petition filed in March 2025 requesting additional DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene and Montgomery’s body. The defense sought testing that they argued could conclusively prove Conahan’s innocence. However, the court ruled that identifying DNA from another individual would not exonerate Conahan given the existing evidence.

Conahan’s execution will mark the 15th carried out in Florida in 2026. Florida has conducted more than half of the 24 executions performed nationwide this year. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, who departs office in January, the state has set a recent record with 19 executions carried out in 2025, the highest number since the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976.

A final appeal from Conahan remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.