Oklahoma executes James Pavatt for the 2001 killing of Rob Andrew in an insurance-money plot

MCALESTER, Okla. (Nov. 13) — Oklahoma put James Pavatt to death Thursday morning for the 2001 killing of Rob Andrew, an Oklahoma City advertising executive who was shot in his garage as he came to pick up his two children for a holiday visit.

Pavatt, 73, was pronounced dead at 10:12 a.m. after a lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Oklahoma Voice reported. A Department of Corrections spokesperson said there were no complications, and no relatives of Pavatt or Andrew attended. He was the fourth person Oklahoma has executed this year, according to KOCO.

Rob Andrew and his wife, Brenda, were in the middle of a divorce when she began a relationship with Pavatt, a life insurance agent who had helped Rob Andrew set up an $800,000 policy. Prosecutors argued the pair plotted the killing to collect on it. A month before the shooting, Rob Andrew reported to authorities that the brake lines on his car had been cut, KOCO reported.

After the killing, Brenda Andrew and Pavatt fled to Mexico with the couple's two children and were caught about three months later. Both were sentenced to death. Brenda Andrew, 62, is the only woman on Oklahoma's death row and is still appealing her conviction and sentence.

The state Pardon and Parole Board turned down clemency for Pavatt in October on a 2-3 vote. Pavatt, an Air Force veteran, told the board he was not guilty of murder, only of falling in love. His attorney, Hunter Labovitz, said Pavatt "long professed his innocence" and argued that the evidence against him was thin.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement that "justice has been served" for Rob Andrew, "who was taken from his children and his family far too soon."

Pavatt's last meal request was a strawberry milkshake and a barbecue dinner of smoked chicken, brisket and pulled pork with fried okra, baked beans and pickles, KOCO reported. News 9 also covered the execution.