Manuel Pardo

Manuel "Manny" Pardo Jr. (September 24, 1956 – December 11, 2012) was an American serial killer and former police officer previously employed by the Florida Highway Patrol and the Sweetwater Police Department. Between January and April 1986, he killed nine known victims. He was convicted on nine counts of first degree murder, for which he was sentenced to death; he was executed in December 2012 by lethal injection.

Criminal career and trial After some brushes with law enforcement, including one incident involving lying to investigators, Pardo's position at the Sweetwater Police Department was terminated. Pardo became involved in the drug trade and, in January 1986, killed his first two known victims, Mario Amador and Roberto Alonso, with a .22 caliber Ruger pistol during a robbery. Pardo maintained until his death that his mission was to rid Florida of its drug culture by killing active sellers and buyers of drugs, admitting to at least six of the nine murders. Pardo "acknowledged that he killed all nine victims but claimed that all nine victims were drug dealers who had no right to live and that he was doing society a favor."

For his final meal, Pardo ate rice, red beans, roasted pork, plantains, sliced avocados, tomato slices with olive oil, pumpkin pie, with egg nog and Cuban Coffee.

Pardo was executed in Florida on December 11, 2012, by lethal injection,

There has been speculation that Dexter Morgan, a fictional serial killer and vigilante who works as a forensics technician at the Miami Police Department, was inspired in part by Pardo due to their resemblance, and their involvement in law enforcement to some degree before their murder sprees, and their vigilantism.