Arizona Executes Man for Kidnapping, Murder of Ex \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Arizona executed Aaron Brian Gunches for the 2002 kidnapping and murder of his girlfriend’s ex-husband. Gunches received a lethal injection after years of legal delays and personal appeals for execution. The victim’s family expressed relief and closure after two decades of waiting for justice.
Arizona Executes Man for Kidnapping, Murder of Ex — Quick Looks
- Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, executed by lethal injection in Arizona.
- Gunches was convicted of killing Ted Price in 2002.
- Execution took place at Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence.
- Gunches pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2007.
- His execution was delayed by a state review ordered by Gov. Katie Hobbs.
- The process was described as smooth, with no final words from Gunches.
- Gunches requested to expedite his execution, calling it “long overdue.”
- Victim’s family expressed mixed emotions of relief and continued grief.
- Gunches’ last meal included a double western bacon cheeseburger and baklava.
- Arizona became the first Democratic-led state to carry out an execution since 2017.
Deep Look
Aaron Brian Gunches, a 53-year-old Arizona man convicted of the 2002 kidnapping and murder of his girlfriend’s ex-husband, was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday. His death, carried out at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence, marked the second execution in the United States this week and the first execution in Arizona under Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.
Gunches was pronounced dead at 10:33 a.m. following the administration of pentobarbital, a powerful sedative used in executions. John Barcello, deputy director of the Arizona corrections department, confirmed the details to reporters, noting that the process proceeded without incident. Witnesses described Gunches taking several heavy breaths and making a snoring sound before passing away.
The case dates back over two decades to December 2002, when Gunches fatally shot Ted Price in a desert area near Mesa, Arizona. The crime followed a violent altercation between Price and his ex-wife, Gunches’ then-girlfriend. Authorities reported that Price had threatened to report his ex-wife for using drugs in the presence of their children. After Price was struck in the face and left dazed, Gunches arranged for him to be driven away from the apartment under the guise of taking him to a bus station. Instead, the group diverted into the desert, where Gunches shot Price to death.
Gunches was arrested in January 2003 near the California border after he shot an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper during a traffic stop. The trooper survived thanks to a bulletproof vest, and ballistics linked casings from that shooting to those found at the scene of Price’s murder. Gunches was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping later that year and pleaded guilty in 2007.
Despite being sentenced to death, Gunches’ execution was delayed for years. In 2022, he even petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court to issue his own execution warrant, expressing a desire to bring closure to Price’s family. Although he later withdrew the request, the court proceeded to schedule his execution. However, it was postponed in April 2023 after Governor Hobbs ordered a review of Arizona’s death penalty procedures. The review led to the dismissal of a retired judge overseeing the examination of execution protocols and changes in the corrections department’s execution team.
Ultimately, Gunches returned to court in December 2023, once again asking the state’s highest court to bypass legal procedures and carry out his execution. He referred to his death sentence as “long overdue,” but the court declined to fast-track the process, scheduling his execution for March 2025.
At Wednesday’s execution, there were no final statements from Gunches. Witnesses reported a smooth process, with IVs placed in his arms rather than the femoral artery, which had been used in prior executions. Arizona Mirror journalist Michael Kiefer, who has observed multiple executions, described this one as “probably the smoothest” he had witnessed.
Before his death, Gunches was served a last meal of a double western bacon cheeseburger, two sandwiches, french fries, onion rings, and baklava for dessert.
The execution brought a complex sense of closure for the family of Ted Price. His sister, Karen Price, remembered her brother as a kind, caring man who loved Arizona sports and riding his motorcycle. “I’d like to imagine we would be both enjoying our retirement and perhaps planning a trip together, rather than me coming here to witness the execution of a man that took his life,” she said.
Karen Price emphasized that while the legal process had come to an end, the pain remains. “Closure isn’t the right word,” she stated. “It is a relief that we no longer have to deal with lawyers, sift through documents, check prison records, or communicate with victims’ advocates or reporters.”
Ted Price’s daughter, Brittney Price, echoed similar sentiments in a written statement, expressing gratitude that this painful chapter had ended but acknowledging the heavy toll the two-decade legal process had taken on her family.
Arizona’s Attorney General Kris Mayes spoke following the execution, saying, “The family of Ted Price has been waiting for justice for more than two decades. They deserve closure.”
There were no last-minute attempts to halt the execution. Some lawyers, who did not represent Gunches, had argued against lethal injection with pentobarbital, citing risks of pulmonary edema, which could cause inmates to drown in their own bodily fluids. The Arizona Supreme Court dismissed the objections, stating that Gunches’ case was not the venue for challenging the legality of lethal injection and that all required procedures had been followed.
Gunches also waived his right to seek clemency from the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, further demonstrating his resolve to proceed with the execution.
This marks Arizona’s first execution under a Democratic governor since Virginia carried out an execution in 2017 under then-Governor Terry McAuliffe. Gunches’ execution is part of a broader resurgence of capital punishment in several states, with other executions scheduled this week in Florida and Oklahoma.
Arizona Executes Man
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