SC Attorney General's Office: Press Releases

Execution Date Set for Horry County Killer

8/16/2002

Columbia, S.C. -- Attorney General Charlie Condon announced today that today the S.C. Supreme Court set an execution date of September 13, 2002 for Michael J. Passaro, an Horry County death row inmate, who pled guilty to murdering his two-year-old daughter, Maggie, on November 23, 1998.

Passaro admitted that he drove his van to his estranged wife's condominium compex, poured gasoline on the floor of the vehicle, ignited the gasoline, and jumped out, leaving Maggie strapped in a child's safety seat, where she burned to death. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to death.

Passaro waived his right to appeal, and the S.C. Supreme Court found him competent to make such a decision.