ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri’s governor has turned down a clemency request from a man who killed his neighbor 25 years ago, clearing the way for his execution.

Gov. Jay Nixon rejected Walter Timothy Storey’s request shortly after 8 p.m. CST Tuesday. Storey is set to die by lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier rejected an appeal arguing the lethal drug could cause a painful death.

Storey was convicted of killing Jill Frey in 1990 inside her apartment in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles. Prosecutors said he attacked the neighbor in search of more money for beer.

After a record 10 executions in 2014 in Missouri, Storey would be the first inmate executed in the state this year.———————

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JIM SALTER, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution for a Missouri inmate who is scheduled to die just after midnight for killing a suburban St. Louis woman 25 years ago.

Walter Timothy Storey’s application for a stay was rejected Tuesday evening. It was presented to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The court says four justices would have granted the application.

Missouri executed a state record 10 people last year, and Storey would be the first execution this year.

The 47-year-old was sentenced to death three separate times in the same case. He killed his 36-year-old neighbor, special education teacher Jill Frey, on Feb. 2, 1990, after a night of drinking.

Storey is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.