A Florida man who raped and murdered his neighbor after inviting her over for coffee is set to be executed next week, marking a grim milestone for the state’s record number of executions this year.
Norman Grim, 65, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday, October 28, at Florida State Prison in Raiford. His execution will be the 15th in the state this year — nearly double Florida’s previous record of eight — and the 41st in the country, the highest national total since 2012.
Grim was convicted of killing 41-year-old Cynthia Campbell, a Pensacola lawyer described by friends as kind, driven, and always eager to help others.
According to court records, the two were neighbors in 1998 when Campbell called 911 after someone broke a window in her home. A deputy responded and found Grim outside. He claimed he was checking on a barking dog. While the officer was still there, Grim invited Campbell over for coffee several times. The deputy reportedly encouraged her to accept.
Campbell agreed — and walked straight into a nightmare. Once inside Grim’s home, he attacked her with a hammer and a knife, raped her, and stabbed her 11 times, most of the blows to her heart. The medical examiner testified she had also been hit 18 times in the head.
After the murder, Grim wrapped Campbell’s body in carpet and sheets and dumped her into Pensacola Bay, where a fisherman discovered her just hours later.
Deputies questioned Grim at the time but released him, saying they didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest. He fled the state and was caught four days later in Oklahoma after a nationwide manhunt.
A jury later convicted Grim of capital murder, and the judge called the crime “savagely brutal” and “senseless” as he sentenced him to death. Grim chose not to present any evidence in his defense during the sentencing phase and has refused to appeal his execution.
Cynthia Campbell’s parents, Ralph and Dorothea, told the Pensacola News Journal that their daughter had always wanted to help others. She first trained as a nurse but switched careers after a shoulder injury, going on to earn her law degree.
“I would like you to know Cindy as a person, our only daughter,” Dorothea told jurors when they were deciding Grim’s fate. Ralph added simply, “The important thing is that she has a face.”
Prosecutors highlighted Grim’s violent past to justify the death penalty. Sixteen years before killing Campbell, he had been convicted for a one-day crime spree that included attempted kidnappings and break-ins. He served nine years in prison and was on parole for burglary at the time of Campbell’s murder.
If carried out, Grim’s execution will add to what experts are calling a historic surge in capital punishment nationwide. Florida alone has more scheduled, including Bryan Jennings, who is set to die in November for the murder of a 6-year-old girl.
With Grim’s death sentence, the state continues to lead the nation in executions — a trend experts say reflects both political pressure and a tougher stance under the current administration.