Oklahoma Man Executed for Plotting Murder of Lover's Husband 25 Years Ago
Andrew Powell · Nov 12, 2026 · 2 min read
An Oklahoma man convicted of helping his lover arrange the murder of her estranged husband was executed Thursday, more than 25 years after the deadly plot left a father of two dead.
James Pavatt, 73, was put to death by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester for the 2001 killing of Rob Andrew, a 39-year-old advertising executive, according to Fox News.
Andrew was shot in his garage while picking up his two young children shortly before Thanksgiving.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections confirmed Pavatt was pronounced dead at 10:12 a.m. Prison officials described the execution as uneventful, and Pavatt did not make a final statement, according to local station KOKH.
For his last meal, Pavatt requested a strawberry milkshake along with smoked chicken, brisket, pulled pork, fried okra, baked beans and pickles, KOCO reported.
Pavatt was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after prosecutors argued he worked with Brenda Andrew, the victim's wife, with whom he was having an affair.
Investigators said the killing followed earlier warning signs. Weeks before his death, Rob Andrew had contacted police after discovering that someone had cut the brake lines on his vehicle.
Brenda Andrew later claimed masked intruders had attacked the couple at their Oklahoma City home, shooting her in the arm and killing her husband. Prosecutors rejected that account and argued the couple had orchestrated the murder.
Following the shooting, Pavatt and Brenda Andrew fled to Mexico with her two children. They were arrested approximately three months later while attempting to return to the United States.
During a clemency hearing last month, Pavatt continued to deny responsibility for the killing and argued that Brenda Andrew had manipulated him.
"It was not until my trial that I began to see the extent to which I had been manipulated by Brenda," Pavatt told the clemency board. He acknowledged that he understood why jurors had concluded both were involved in the murder.
Prosecutors maintained that Pavatt and Andrew shared responsibility for the killing, regardless of who fired the fatal shots. Brenda Andrew was convicted in a separate trial and also received a death sentence.