A Dream Home Turned Nightmare: The Murder of Carmen Gayheart
Brick by brick, Carmen and Ricky Gayheart built their dream home on a peaceful five-acre stretch in northern Florida.
The high school sweethearts chose the quiet town of Fort White to raise their young family and leave behind the rising crime of South Florida. For two years, they lived in a trailer on their wooded property, saving and working toward a better life. When they finally moved into the house with their 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, they hung a sign out front: “Welcome to the Gayheart Corral.”
But the dream turned into a nightmare on April 27, 1994.
That day, 23-year-old Carmen was abducted in broad daylight during a quick trip to the grocery store. She was raped and murdered by two fugitives who had escaped from a North Carolina prison and were on the run. For five agonizing days, Carmen’s family and local authorities searched desperately before her body was found on a remote dirt road—brutalized, abandoned, and gone.
Carmen left behind a husband, two children, loving parents, a sister, and a large extended family. Her husband and children soon moved out of the home that was meant to be their forever place.
“It was a beautiful house, and she didn’t even get a chance to enjoy it,” her sister Maria David told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview. “She had just moved in and was so excited. She couldn’t wait for us to see it.”
“I was so happy for her,” David added.
Now, more than 30 years later, the family is preparing to close at least one chapter of their long and painful story. On Tuesday, one of Carmen’s killers, Anthony Wainwright, is scheduled to be executed in Florida. As U.S. executions ramp up in 2025, USA TODAY is revisiting the lives lost—and the enduring grief carried by the families left behind.
The Escape That Led to Tragedy
On April 24, 1994, Anthony Wainwright and Richard Hamilton broke out of a prison in Newport, North Carolina. Wainwright had been serving a 10-year sentence for breaking and entering; Hamilton was partway through a 25-year term for armed robbery. Armed and desperate, the pair stole a Cadillac and a cache of weapons, heading south with no clear plan.
Three days later—and nearly 600 miles away—their path crossed fatefully with that of 23-year-old Carmen Gayheart. As she walked into a Winn-Dixie grocery store in Lake City, Florida, the two fugitives spotted her.
A Routine Stop Turns Into a Nightmare
Carmen Gayheart had just completed a class at nursing school and made a quick stop at the grocery store before picking up her 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son from daycare.
A Daylight Abduction
With her arms full of groceries, Carmen was ambushed in the parking lot by two armed men—Anthony Wainwright and Richard Hamilton. They forced her into her blue Ford Bronco at gunpoint. Despite it being broad daylight, there were no witnesses to the kidnapping.
The Search for Carmen
Carmen’s sudden disappearance sparked a massive search effort. Hundreds of volunteers joined law enforcement in combing the area, hoping for a miracle. Five days later, their worst fears were confirmed—Carmen’s body was found along a remote dirt road. She had been raped and shot twice in the back of the head. She was still wearing a pink shirt—her favorite color.
The Capture and Confession
The following day, Wainwright and Hamilton were apprehended in Brookhaven, Mississippi—over 500 miles from the crime scene—after a shootout with police. They had been driving Carmen’s Bronco and were both wounded during the confrontation.
Wainwright initially confessed to raping Carmen and implicated Hamilton as the shooter. He has since walked back his statement, claiming he neither assaulted nor killed her, though he admits he was present, according to his spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeff Hood.
Justice and Aftermath
Both men were convicted and sentenced to death. Hamilton died of natural causes in 2023 at the age of 59. Wainwright, now 54, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday—just an hour before Alabama plans to carry out the nitrogen gas execution of Greg Hunt for the 1988 murder of Karen Lane, a woman he had been dating for just a month.
Carmen Gayheart: A Gentle Spirit Taken Too Soon
A Sister’s Bond and a Gentle Soul
Raised in Fort Lauderdale, sisters Carmen and Maria Tortora were not only siblings, but best friends. As the eldest, Maria always looked out for Carmen, whom she lovingly described as “beautiful inside and out.”
Carmen’s deep love for animals was just one reflection of her kind heart. She wouldn’t even harm a cockroach, Maria recalled.
“She would find a way to safely catch and release it,” Maria said. “She was truly one of a kind.”
A High School Romance Blossoms
Though their families had long known each other, Carmen and Ricky Gayheart’s connection didn’t ignite until high school.
“We were walking around campus and he started following us,” Maria remembered. “‘I want you to come with me in my truck,’ he said to her. And I told him, ‘She’s not going anywhere without me.’ I was very protective.”
Soon, love bloomed. The couple welcomed their first child when Carmen was just 18 and married before the birth of their second. Carmen embraced motherhood completely—and had dreams of growing their family further.
A Life Full of Love and Purpose
Alongside her love for her husband and children, Carmen was passionate about caring for others. She had returned to school to pursue nursing and also doted on the family’s pets, which included dogs, cats, and even a horse.
“She loved animals, people, her children, her husband,” Maria said. “She was building something beautiful.”
A Dream Shattered by Tragedy
Just weeks after moving into their newly built home on five acres in northern Florida, Carmen’s life was stolen in an act of unimaginable violence.
Her husband, Ricky, previously told the South Florida Sun Sentinel through tears, “We moved up here to get away from everything… We’re in the middle of the woods. It can happen anywhere.”
He added, “She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was too good for this world.”
Seeking Justice and Closure
Maria David, now 56, is preparing to witness Anthony Wainwright’s execution—one of the two men convicted in Carmen’s murder.
She says she’ll be there not only for her sister but also for their late parents, who didn’t live to see this day. Their father died in 2013, and their mother in 2023.
“I feel like I owe it to Carmen,” Maria said. “He’s had 31 years—phone calls, letters, air to breathe. Carmen didn’t have 31 seconds.”
A Family Legacy Lives On
Despite the horror that took her, Carmen’s legacy endures. Her son Chad is now a father himself, naming his daughter Gabriela after Carmen’s middle name. Her daughter Jessica has married and is thriving in the medical field, traveling the world.
To preserve Carmen’s memory, Maria created a Facebook page where she shares stories and photos.
“She was here. She was loved. She mattered,” Maria said. “And she deserves to be remembered.”
A Vigil for Carmen
On the evening of the execution, Carmen’s family will hold a prayer vigil outside Florida State Prison in Raiford. The gathering will be live-streamed as a tribute to the woman whose life was taken but never forgotten—Carmen Gayheart.
