RECAP: Carlton Gary 'Stocking Strangler' lethal injection execution

(WTVM) - Just minutes after 10:33 p.m. Thursday, March 15, media was told Carlton Gary's execution was successful by lethal injection.

Gary's death came across as a very "sanitary" situation according to witnesses.

Witnesses say Gary's wife was not present during the execution. Former detectives and current Columbus Police Chief Ricky Boren and District Attorney Julia Slater were also witnesses. Those watching the execution unfold in the chambers say there was never a reaction from anyone in the room including Gary himself.

Some witnesses even described the moment as if Gary continued to maintain his innocence and control of his sentencing until his final breath.

"Gary never said a word. He never opened his eyes that I could see. He made very little emotion. As he lay on the gurney, only his left foot shook a little. As I said, he had no last words," described Tim Chitwood,  an execution media witness.

Gary declined his last meal, declined to make a final statement, and declined a final prayer before his execution was carried out.

"It was a surreal moment," other witnesses went on to say.

No family of Gary's attended the execution, but several family members of the victims were in attendance, according to officials.

Gary's body has been sent to the GBI  crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy and will be released to family after its completed.

Copyright 2018 WTVM. All rights reserved. | For more news, download the WTVM app here.