pavatt execution file
James Pavatt claimed innocence in the slaying of an Oklahoma City advertising executive for insurance money. His co-defendant and former lover Brenda Andrew is also on death row.

James Pavatt made no final statement before being executed Thursday for killing his lover’s estranged husband nearly 25 years ago.

Pavatt merely shook his head when asked by Oklahoma Department of Corrections Chief of Operations Jason Sparks if he had any last words. Pavatt appeared to share a quick word with Michael Scott, his spiritual advisor, after microphones inside the death chamber had been cut off.

Pavatt was declared dead at 10:12 a.m.

He was sentenced to death for the Nov. 20, 2001, murder of Robert “Rob” Andrew, a 39-year-old Oklahoma City advertising executive and father of two in one of the state’s most notorious murder cases.

Pavatt was having an affair with Rob Andrew’s estranged wife, Brenda Andrew. Prosecutors said Pavatt and Brenda Andrew conspired to kill Rob Andrew and collect an $800,000 life insurance policy.

Pavatt, a former Air Force master sergeant who worked as an insurance agent, had been friends with Rob Andrew and helped arrange the insurance policy that prosecutors said became a motive for the killing.

Rob Andrew moved out of the family’s Oklahoma City home after Pavatt and his wife began a sexual relationship, according to court records.

Weeks before Rob Andrew’s death, someone had cut the brake lines on his vehicle. He reported the apparent attempt on his life to authorities and expressed suspicion that his estranged wife and Pavatt were involved.

Andrew was shot to death in the garage of the family’s Oklahoma City home after he returned to pick up his children for a holiday visit. Prosecutors said the pair had devised another plan to kill Andrew, this time luring him to the house under the pretense that Brenda Andrew needed help lighting a pilot light.

Brenda Andrew told police that masked intruders had killed her husband and shot her in the arm.

Investigators eventually concluded that the attack had been staged and that Brenda Andrew and Pavatt had planned the killing.

Brenda Andrew and Pavatt later fled to Mexico with the Andrews’ two children. They were arrested by Mexican authorities several months later and returned to Oklahoma to face prosecution.

Both were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy and sentenced to death in separate trials. Brenda Andrew remains on Oklahoma’s death row and is the only woman in the state currently sentenced to death.

Pavatt once confessed to killing Rob Andrew in a letter, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office, but claimed to be innocent as his execution approached. 

At an Oct. 14 clemency hearing before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, Pavatt apologized for the suffering Andrew’s family had endured but denied responsibility for the killing.

“I am not guilty of shooting anyone,” Pavatt told the board.

His attorney, Hunter Labovitz, argued prosecutors never presented credible evidence placing Pavatt at the scene of the murder. The defense also challenged the prosecution’s handling of the case, including what attorneys described as inconsistent accounts of who actually fired the fatal shots.

Labovitz said prosecutors argued during Pavatt’s trial that Pavatt was the gunman but presented a different theory during Brenda Andrew’s trial, suggesting that she had fired the weapon.

Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Crabb disputed the defense’s characterization, arguing both defendants participated in the murder and that either could have pulled the trigger.

Pavatt’s defense also presented a recorded statement from Mark Haydon, the foreperson of the jury that sentenced him to death. Haydon told the parole board that he had supported the death sentence because prosecutors convinced jurors Pavatt was the shooter. He said he subsequently came to question whether that conclusion was correct and whether Pavatt should be executed.

“Why can’t we just get it right? Why do we have to win?” Haydon said.

Defense attorneys also argued that Pavatt’s trial lawyers had failed to adequately present evidence about his military service and personal history. Pavatt served 21 years in the Air Force, and a former commander told the parole board that he would have testified on Pavatt’s behalf had he been called during the original trial.

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office rejected those arguments, saying Pavatt’s military record had been presented to jurors and did not diminish his responsibility for the murder. The Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 against recommending clemency to the governor’s office.

Rob Andrew’s family also addressed the board during the clemency process. In a letter, his brothers described the lasting impact of his death, including the loss experienced by his children, who were raised by their grandparents after the murder.

The brothers said it was up to the laws of the state of Oklahoma to decide James Pavatt’s fate.

“Vengeance is not ours. Our brother is gone and we cannot change that,” they wrote.