LARRY BILL ELLIOTT EXECUTED BY THE ELECTRIC CHAIR ON NOVEMBER 17, 2009

            On this date, November 17, 2009, Larry Bill Elliott was executed by the electric chair in Virginia. He was convicted of the January 2, 2001 murders of Dana Thrall and Robert Finch. Let us hear from the victims’ families.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/elliott1182.htm

Elliott, 60, a former Army intelligence officer from Hanover, Md., died in the electric chair at Greensville Correctional Center, about 60 miles south of Richmond. He was pronounced dead at 9:08 p.m. He had met with his family, a spiritual adviser and his lawyers earlier in the day. Elliott entered the room under the escort of correction officers who attached a metal clasp lined with a moistened sponge to his shaved right calf, affixed a metallic cap lined with a sponge to his shaved head and covered his face with a leather mask. 

He was then strapped into the oak chair. In the presence of representatives of the attorney general and state corrections officials, an officer in a side room pushed the "execute button" at 9 p.m., sending 1,800 volts through Elliott's body for 30 seconds, followed by a 60-second burst of 240 volts. Elliott's body tensed at the first surge and again a second time when the cycle was repeated for another 90 seconds. The room was silent. 

Five minutes later, a physician entered and put a stethoscope to his chest. He looked up several seconds later at officials in the plain white room and said simply, "9:08." 

Robert Finch's sister, Jennifer Finch Robitaille, said the killings have become part of her life because she lost a brother and a best friend in them. Robitaille said she cannot forgive Elliott. "I think he deserves what he's getting," Robitaille said. "Robert's life was cut short by this guy who was jealous, who wasn't happy with his own life. I wonder very often where our family would be, where Robert and Dana's lives would be." 

Thrall's two boys, now 15 and 13, were adopted by her brother and sister-in-law, Cameron and Becky Thrall, who live near Seattle. Cameron Thrall said the boys are doing well and speak often about their mother but have not delved into the details of the crime. The Thralls have saved the newspapers and court documents chronicling the murders so that the boys, at an appropriate age, can learn as much as they care to. 

Cameron Thrall said the boys think that Elliott is receiving the appropriate punishment. And although he is philosophically against the death penalty, he said he thinks the crime deserved the harshest punishment. He also said he feels for Elliott's family, which lost a father and husband. "My personal view is that by taking Elliott's life, it doesn't bring back my sister, it doesn't undo the brutality of her murder and it doesn't erase the scars her children have to bear," said Cameron Thrall, a former Marine. "But do I think someone like that is deserving of death? Absolutely. . . . Put me in a room with him for an hour, and you'd have the same result as the death penalty." 

Becky Thrall said she was pleased with the outcome. "To me, I feel I can move on," she said. "Never again do I have to think of this person." Adam Thrall, Dana's son, 15, said simply, "Good riddance."

- Family members of Dana Thrall and Robert Finch who were murdered by Larry Bill Elliott on 2 January 2001. He was executed by the electric chair in Virginia on 17 November 2009. Elliott, who was married with three adult children and a teenager, met Rebecca Gragg online when she posted an ad looking for a "sugar daddy." She told Elliott she wanted to turn her life around and that she needed financial support to help start a business designing and selling stripper costumes. Elliott was infatuated and over 18 months spent about $450,000 supplying Gragg a home, private school for her two children, a car, breast enhancement surgery, and a credit card. Gragg was having a bitter custody dispute with a former partner, Robert Finch. 25 year old Dana Thrall was found in her home pistol-whipped and shot three times in the head. 30 year old Robert Finch, who lived with her, was found alongside, shot in the head, chest and back. Elliott viewed Finch as a threat to his relationship and obsession with Finch.