Victor Tony Jones, 64, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison near Starke. This follows his conviction for the fatal stabbing of a married couple, Matilda and Jacob Nestor, during a robbery in South Florida in 1990. Jones is scheduled to be the 13th individual executed in Florida in 2025, a record for the state, which has already surpassed previous records for executions in a single year.
Jones was working as a new employee at the Nestors’ business when he murdered the couple. On the day of the crime, he fatally stabbed Matilda in the neck and Jacob in the chest during a robbery. Despite suffering severe wounds, Jacob managed to retreat to an office and fired a .22 caliber pistol at Jones, striking him in the forehead before dying from his injuries. Jones was later found with the couple’s money and personal property in his pockets, leading to his arrest.
Convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed robbery, Jones was sentenced to death in 1993. Since the restoration of the death penalty in the U.S. in 1976, Florida has consistently been one of the leading states in executions, and in 2025, it has carried out more death sentences than any other state. Texas follows with five executions this year, while two additional executions are planned for next month in Florida.
Jones’ legal team filed an appeal earlier this month, raising concerns about his intellectual disability and the alleged abuse he suffered as a teenager at a now-closed state-run reform school. However, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal, stating that the disability issue had already been addressed and that the abuse allegations were never presented during Jones’ original trial. A subsequent appeal was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, but no decision has been issued as of yet.
Jones is among 33 individuals who have been executed in the U.S. this year, with at least eight others scheduled for execution before the end of 2025. On October 14, another death sentence will be carried out in Florida, marking the 14th execution in the state this year. Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, who was convicted of killing two women in 1996, is the next scheduled individual to face execution.
