PHOENIX — A warrant for execution has been granted for Leroy Dean McGill, who was convicted of several crimes more than 20 years ago.
McGill was charged with the murders of Charles Perez and the attempted murder of Nova Banta. Documents state that in July 2002, McGill entered a Phoenix apartment and threw gasoline on Perez and Banta and set them on fire. Three other people were able to escape from the fire.
McGill was charged in 2003, and the following year, a jury found him guilty on all counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, arson, and the endangerment of three other victims.
At the sentencing, the jury found McGill had been convicted of prior serious offenses, that he knowingly created a grave risk of death to persons other than the victim, and that he committed the offenses in both an "especially cruel" and an "especially heinous or depraved" manner. The jury determined that death was the appropriate sentence for the murder of Perez.
By 2022, McGill had exhausted all his state and federal appeals to challenge his sentences.
The state filed a motion for execution on March 6, 2026, and it was granted by the Arizona Supreme Court.
The warrant sets a date of execution for McGill as May 20, 2026.
