howard steven ault is evil personified.
and he is where he belongs, on florida’s grim death row.
now the courts have given the green light to execute the notorious double child killer.
ault, 57, was sentenced to death for the nov. 4, 1996, double murder of deann emerald mu’min, 11, and her younger sister, alicia sybilla jones, 7, in fort lauderdale.
ault lured the girls to his home with the promise of a bounty of halloween candy. once inside his house of death, he raped deann in front of her sister before strangling them to death and hiding their bodies in his attic.
the killer was sentenced to die in 2000 but a slew of legal challenges has kept ault out of the grip of the grim reaper. this week, a jury voted 9-3 to execute him.
deann emerald mu’min, 11, right, and her younger sister, alicia sybilla jones, 7. bcso
according to reports, the jury deliberated for two days before deciding to dispatch ault. a recent florida law made a death sentence legal even if the jury vote is non-unanimous. now, the vote must be at least 8-4 in favour of execution.
the 2018 parkland school massacre that left 17 dead spurred florida gov. ron desantis to change the law after outrage that the killer would not get the death penalty because of the jury vote.
ault was a longtime sex offender and at the time of his arrest for murdering the sisters, he was on house arrest for another sex assault involving a child.