Moeller's Last Statement Leaves Questions
by Associated Press
October 31, 2012 4:33 PM
A man executed Tuesday night in South Dakota for raping and killing a 9-year-old girl is taking one final mystery with him.
Sixty-year-old Donald Moeller was executed at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls for the 1990 murder of 9-year-old Becky O'Connell.
Asked by the warden if he had any last words, prison officials say Moeller replied, "No sir," and then looked up and said, "They're my fan club?"
Some have speculated that Moeller was referring to the witnesses to the execution, including Becky's mother and stepfather.
But the Department of Corrections released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying witnesses and prison staff could hear voices coming from nearby inmates, leading DOC officials to believe Moeller might have been referencing other - possibly cheering - inmates when he said "fan club."
