Jeffrey Weisheit, who was sentenced to death for killing his partner’s two young children, has been executed by lethal injection in the United States. He had tied up the children and set fire to the home where they were.
The 50-year-old was executed Thursday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. The injection was administered shortly after midnight, and he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. local time.
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Indiana prison officials said Weisheit’s last meal included barbecued pork ribs. He made no final statement.
The crime took place in 2010 in Evansville, Indiana. Weisheit set fire to his partner’s home while her children, 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb Lynch, were inside.
During the investigation, Alyssa’s body was found in a closet, while Caleb was found on a mattress. He had been bound with duct tape. Two railroad flares were found near him; one had been placed in the child’s underwear.
When the tragedy occurred, Lisa Lynch was at work and had left the children in Weisheit’s care. The two were in a romantic relationship that, according to investigators, was going through difficulties.
In court, the children’s mother spoke about the pain of her loss. She said Alyssa was creative, loved drawing and often drew pictures of her family. She remembered Caleb as an affectionate child who liked hugs, cooking and playing with trucks and trains.
“Living each day without them is a struggle. Birthdays, holidays and every important moment bring the pain of their absence. The years pass, but the weight of the loss remains. They will always be my children,” she said.
Weisheit was sentenced to death in 2013. His lawyers sought brain scans, arguing that he had suffered head injuries and had mental health problems that had not been adequately assessed during his trial.
Indiana’s Republican governor, Mike Braun, denied both the request for further examinations and the request to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment.
His lawyers also raised last-minute objections to the substances used in the lethal injection. They had been obtained from a pharmacy facing a disciplinary hearing before the Indiana Board of Pharmacy. Prison officials said the execution would be carried out humanely.
After the execution, Governor Braun said state and federal courts had reviewed the case several times and none had overturned the decision. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita called the execution long-awaited justice for the two innocent children.
Two other executions were scheduled for Thursday in the United States, one in Florida and one in Alabama. If all three took place, it would be the second time this year that three people had been executed in the country on a single day.
Florida was scheduled to execute Jesse Guardado, 64, who was convicted of stabbing a 75-year-old woman to death in her home in 2004. After the killing, he took jewelry and money to fund his drug addiction.
Florida has carried out 19 executions this year, matching its 2025 record. More than half of the executions carried out in the United States this year have taken place in the state.
The execution of Michael Taylor, 54, was also scheduled for Thursday in Alabama. He was convicted of killing an elderly couple by beating them to death with a metal bar during a robbery at their home 35 years ago.
Taylor’s lawyers asked for his death sentence to be replaced with life imprisonment. They argued that he was only 19 when he committed the crime and that his age and immaturity should be taken into account. Alabama’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, nevertheless denied the request for clemency.
The executions scheduled in the three states have brought the debate over the death penalty and how it is carried out back into focus in the United States.
