{"id":338422,"date":"2026-07-13T14:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/338422\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T14:20:13","slug":"will-killer-set-to-be-executed-say-where-victims-body-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/338422\/","title":{"rendered":"Will killer set to be executed say where victim\u2019s body is?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dennis<\/p>\n

Dennis Sochor<\/p>\n

Florida Department of Corrections<\/p>\n

It has been 44 years since 18-year-old Patricia \u201cPatty\u201d Gifford was raped and murdered after a New Year\u2019s celebration in Broward County.<\/p>\n

Her killer was convicted, and on Tuesday, the state will carry out his death sentence. But Gifford\u2019s family still doesn\u2019t know where Dennis Sochor, now 74, placed Gifford\u2019s body when he tried to conceal the evidence of the depraved crime.<\/p>\n

That has stayed with lead prosecutor Kelly Hancock decades later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not remember all the facts. But I do remember the victims, and the victims\u2019 families,\u201d Hancock told the Miami Herald. \u201c… He just dumped her out there like trash. That makes it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Patricia Patricia \u2018Patty\u2019 Gifford in an undated phot. Miami Herald archives <\/p>\n

In 1987, jurors convicted Sochor of the kidnapping, rape and first-degree murder of Gifford, who had moved to Fort Lauderdale from Massachusetts months before she was killed. In a 10-2 vote, the jury recommended that Sochor be executed.<\/p>\n

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Sochor\u2019s death warrant on June 10.<\/p>\n

On New Year’s Day 1982, Sochor, a swimming-pool cleaner, befriended Gifford at the then-Banana Boat lounge, located at 2650 State Road 84 near Hollywood. He helped Gifford move her ill friend into her car to rest, and Gifford ultimately got in Sochor\u2019s car, according to the Miami Herald\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n

Gifford, an aerobics instructor, went to the bar with a coworker for a girls\u2019 night out, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Her high-school sweetheart, a chef with whom Gifford had relocated to Fort Lauderdale, was working a holiday dinner shift that day.<\/p>\n

She was never seen again because, prosecutors say, Sochor raped and killed Gifford at the side of a deserted road.<\/p>\n

Hancock, who left the Broward State Attorney\u2019s Office in 1989, said he\u2019s attending Sochor\u2019s execution at the Florida State Prison in Raiford because he wanted Gifford\u2019s family to know that he still cares \u2014 and that he hasn\u2019t forgotten about her.<\/p>\n

\"The The death chamber at the Florida State Prison. Florida Department of Corrections <\/p>\n

Sochor, Hancock said, destroyed Gifford\u2019s family and robbed Gifford of the opportunity to live a life. He pointed out how Gifford would have been 62 this year and would\u2019ve likely been bracing herself for retirement and grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is so precious …,\u201d Hancock said. \u201cAnd if someone takes that precious gift from someone in such a violent and vicious matter, they forfeit [it]. We will never know what [Gifford] would have accomplished, achieved in her life because of what he chose to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was a prosecutor, Hancock said he handled approximately 70 first-degree murder cases; at least 12 of those ended with defendants on Death Row. While not a steadfast proponent of the death penalty, Hancock said he believes Sochor earned his sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure when I walk away and leave from there, I\u2019ll have no regret and no sympathy [for him],\u201d Hancock predicted. \u201cDennis decided what he was going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018No question as to his guilt\u2019<\/p>\n

During Sochor\u2019s trial, prosecutors presented evidence tying Sochor to Gifford\u2019s disappearance and murder:<\/p>\n

They showed jurors a photo of Gifford celebrating New Year\u2019s Eve at the then-Banana Boat lounge, according to the archives. Gifford was holding a glass of iced tea, with Sochor looking over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

\"Dennis Dennis Sochor appears in a photo shown to jurors during his trial. Miami Herald archives <\/p>\n

The jury also heard Sochor, in a taped confession, admit that he pursued Gifford, lured her into his truck and drove her to a remote construction site, where he sexually assaulted Gifford, beat her and strangled her.<\/p>\n

Sochor\u2019s brother, Gary Sochor, testified that he was with Sochor when he invited Gifford to hop into his truck, pulled over and dragged Gifford to the ground, according to the archives. Gary Sochor said he didn\u2019t help Gifford because he was drunk and scared of Sochor. Gary Sochor was never charged with a crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis pupils would roll back in his head and all I\u2019d see was white,\u201d Gary Sochor testified, according to the Herald\u2019s archives. \u201cHe spoke in a deep voice that wasn\u2019t his. He looked to be possessed. I always thought it was the devil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Sochor, who lived in Michigan, said he never saw what happened to Gifford\u2019s body and couldn\u2019t show detectives where the murder took place because he was unfamiliar with the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question as to his guilt,\u201d Hancock said. \u201cDennis Sochor did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dennis Dennis Sochor reacts after the verdict is read. Miami Herald archives <\/p>\n

Sochor fled Florida after the murder and remained on the run until a traffic stop in Georgia four-and-a-half years later.<\/p>\n

At the time of Gifford\u2019s murder, Sochor had been convicted twice for sexual assaults. However, he had changed his name, which allowed him to remain free on probation. Hancock said he believes Sochor killed Gifford to eliminate her as a witness \u2014 because he knew he would go to prison for life if he got caught.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had no pity on Patty, and we have no pity on him,\u201d Gifford\u2019s mother, Barbara Ryan, told the Herald after Sochor\u2019s trial in 1987.<\/p>\n

Hancock echoed those sentiments \u2014 and said he hopes Gifford\u2019s murder haunts Sochor during his final moments:<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope when he takes his last breath, he thinks of her taking her last breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dennis Dennis Sochor on trial before Judge Russell Seay. Pete Cross <\/p>\n

This story was supplemented with information from the Miami Herald\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Grethel Aguila<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dennis Sochor Florida Department of Corrections It has been 44 years since 18-year-old Patricia \u201cPatty\u201d Gifford was raped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-338422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}