Edward Lagrone

Edward Lewis Lagrone, 47, was executed by lethal injection on 11 February 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of three people in their home.

On 26 May 1991, Pamela Lloyd, 30, of Fort Worth, discovered that her 10-year-old daughter, Shakeisha, was pregnant. Shakeisha told her that she had been raped by Edward Lagrone, then 34. Lagrone and Lloyd had a relationship for six months in 1985. Lagrone continued to make visits to the Lloyd home after their breakup.

Lloyd went to the police and filed a rape complaint against Lagrone. She also confronted him on the telephone. At first, Lagrone denied having sex with Shakeisha, but later that day, he called Lloyd back and confessed to molesting Shakeisha on numerous occasions. He apologized to Lloyd and offered to support the baby. The next day, Lloyd called Lagrone and told him that Shakeisha wanted an abortion, which would cost $895.

At the time, Lagrone was on parole for a previous murder conviction. If Lloyd pursued rape charges against him, his parole could have been revoked. On 29 May, Lagrone offered to give Lloyd $1,500 if she would drop the rape complaint. Lloyd refused to withdraw the complaint. Later that day, Lagrone gave a friend, Anetta Daniel, money to buy a double-barreled, pistol-grip shotgun for him.

On 30 May 1991, before dawn, Pamela Lloyd, heard a knock at her front door, along with a demand to "open the door." Lloyd's son, Charles, recognized the voice as Lagrone's. When Lloyd's brother, Dempsey, 48, opened the door, Lagrone shot him with the shotgun, hitting him in the arm. Lagrone then went into the front bedroom and shot Pamela's aunt, Carolina Lloyd, 76, who was sleeping. Next, Lagrone went into the kitchen and shot another aunt, Zenobia Anderson, 83, who was washing clothes. His next victim was Shakeisha, who was shot while trying to protect her 19-month-old sister. As Dempsey Lloyd pleaded for mercy, Lagrone shot him a second time, then he left the house. Zenobia Anderson, Carolina Lloyd, and Shakeisha Lloyd were all shot in the neck or head and died in the attack. Dempsey Lloyd, though wounded, went next door and called for emergency assistance, while Pamela stayed in the house with her three surviving children.

Shakeisha's autopsy showed that she was seventeen weeks pregnant. DNA testing showed conclusively that Lagrone was the father.

Lagrone had a previous conviction for murder. He served seven years of a 20-year prison sentence from 1977 to 1984. According to trial testimony, he was a well-known drug dealer. Two of his sisters testified that he sexually assaulted them at gunpoint in 1986.

A jury convicted Lagrone of capital murder in May 1993 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in February 1997. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

"Like I've said from day one, I didn't kill them," Lagrone said in his last statement. "But I'm no better than the people that did." He concluded by saying, "Jesus is Lord. That's all I have to say." He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

The execution was witnessed by several of Shakeisha's relatives, but Pamela Lloyd could not attend because she was incarcerated. Pamela Rochelle Lloyd has also had a lengthy criminal history. She was convicted of petty larceny in 1981 and of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in 1987. She served seven months of a five-year sentence before being paroled. In November 1991, she was charged with the murder of her husband, Gene Tutt, 36. While out on bond, she was arrested for driving while intoxicated. She was later convicted of murder and sentenced to five years in prison. She is scheduled to be discharged on 16 July 2004.