Trigger Warning: The article contains details of sexual assault and death. Reader discretion is advised.
Florida is to execute its 15th inmate in the state this year, which is nearly double compared to its previous record for annual executions. The convict is a man who sexually assaulted and murdered his next-door neighbor after he invited her for coffee.
The 65-year-old Norman Grim, a Florida man, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, October 28. He was arrested for the brutal murder of his Pensacola neighbor. The victim is a 41-year-old lawyer named Cynthia Campbell, who has been described to be someone who always helped people.
If Grim’s execution goes forward as expected, he will be the 41st man to be executed in the U.S. this year, and this has been an unseen number since 2012. As per reports, five more executions are scheduled before January.
Norman Grim is set to be executed at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Florida State Prison in Raiford.
On July 27, 1998, Pensacola resident Cynthia Campbell dialed 911 after she found one of the windows in her house had been broken. One of the deputies had found Norman Grim outside Campbell’s home; however, he said that he was just checking for a barking dog, according to USA TODAY.
Norman Grim, convicted of killing his Milton neighbor, to be Florida’s 15th execution of 2025 https://t.co/rzxBondYQj
— PNJ (@pnj) October 27, 2025
Sources have also reported that while the deputy was still there, Grim invited Campbell over for coffee many times. The deputy even encouraged her to accept the coffee offer, the Journal reported. Campbell then went to Norman’s home that morning, and unfortunately, she walked into a trap.
Grim attacked her with a knife and hammer. He sexually assaulted her and then killed her. As per court records, it has been found that she was bludgeoned 18 times and stabbed 11 times, mostly in the heart. Grim then wrapped Campbell’s body in some sheets and carpet. After which, they dumped her in Pensacola Bay, where a fisherman recovered her after just two hours, said the court records and archived news reports.
TODAY: Florida is scheduled to carry out the execution of Norman Mearle Grim Jr. For the murder of his neighbor Cynthia Campbell on July 27, 1998 at Santa Rosa County.
His execution will be the 15th in the state, tying the amount with 1912. pic.twitter.com/vf1euYSlHQ
— Friday-Justice-Obsessions (@death_row0506) October 28, 2025
Deputies did initially question Grim, and they said they didn’t arrest him as they had no probable cause, reported the News Journal. Grim then escaped the state and set off a nationwide manhunt that lasted four days and finally ended in Oklahoma. Alert officers spotted the killer at a relative’s house.
A member of the jury reviewed some gruesome images of Campbell’s body and found Grim guilty of capital murder. A judge later sentenced him to death, calling the crime “savagely brutal” and “senseless.”
Initially, Grim declined to present any mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of his trial. Insiders have reported that such evidence, which might include a traumatic childhood or mental illness, can help a defendant get a lighter sentence.
Grim has also declined to apply for a plea to stop his execution.
