An Ohio man was executed on July 15, 2004, for murdering his girlfriend and their 3-year-old daughter, then stuffing them into a refrigerator and freezer.

Stephen Vrabel was executed on July 14, 2004, for the aggravated murders of his live-in companion, Susan Clemente, 29, and the couple's 3-year-old daughter, Lisa Clemente, in 1989.

After shooting his live-in girlfriend of almost four years and their daughter, he placed Clemente's body in the refrigerator and Lisa's body in the freezer.

He continued living at the apartment for several weeks before leaving the city.

A relative discovered the bodies soon after Vrabel left town, when he stopped by to collect the rent. When Vrabel learned that the bodies had been discovered, he turned himself in to authorities and confessed to the murders.

According to information released by the Supreme Court of Ohio, Vrabel subsequently was found to be incapable of assisting in his own defense as a result of mental illness, and therefore incompetent to stand trial. In 1994, after five years of confinement in mental hospitals, Vrabel was found sufficiently recovered to stand trial. Throughout his trial, Vrabel occasionally refused to cooperate with his attorneys and repeatedly petitioned the court to let him represent himself. After being found guilty, he elected to introduce his own statement as his only evidence in mitigation.

The Ohio Supreme Court upheld Vrabel's death sentence by a 4-3 vote last year. Justice Resnik, of the 8th District Court of Appeals, wrote, "the aggravating circumstances of appellant's crimes far outweigh and exceed those factors.

Not only was [Vrabel] deliberate in causing the death of Susan Clemente, but he also rationalized the murder of their three-and-one-half year old daughter and asserting that she would be 'better off dead' since appellant had killed her mother and he would be going to jail."

During an interview reported by Vindy.com , the day before his execution, he gave no reason for murdering Susan Clemente and described Lisa as being "the perfect child." He explained that he placed the bodies in the freezer as an attempt to slow down decomposition, "somehow, at first I thought I could bring Lisa back to life or something like that," said Vrabel.

He was pronounced dead by lethal injection, on July 14, 2004, at 10:14 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.

Source: Supreme Court of Ohio / Public Information / Case Summaries