Virgil Martinez

Virgil Euristi Martinez, 41, was executed by lethal injection on 28 January 2009 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of four people.

Veronica Fuentes lived in a trailer park near Alvin in Brazoria County with her husband and their two children. After Fuentes became estranged from her husband, she dated Martinez for some time, but they broke up. In September 1996, Fuentes told the trailer park landlord, Sherry Graves, that she was afraid of Martinez, and that if Graves saw him at the trailer park, she ought to call the sheriff's office.

On 1 October 1996, at around 11 p.m., Graves heard banging noises and screaming coming from the direction of Fuentes' trailer. She got up, went to the trailer, and listened at the window. She heard Fuentes say "No, Virgil. No. Please no. Just go. Just go." An angry male voice said the words "your purse" and "a cop". Graves went to the front door and went inside the trailer. She saw Fuentes and asked if she was okay. Fuentes replied, "Yes. Sherry, get help. Get help." Graves told Fuentes she was going to call 911, and then she called 911 as she walked back toward her house.

Next, Graves saw Fuentes in her front yard saying "No, Virgil. Oh my God." Graves then saw Martinez, 28, shoot Fuentes, 27. She then saw Fuentes fall to the ground. John Gomez, 18, a friend of Fuentes', ran towards Martinez, and Martinez shot him. Graves then took refuge inside her house. She saw Martinez run by her house, doing something with a "holster-looking belt."

Police arrived to find Fuentes dead in her front yard from ten to twelve bullet wounds. Her children, six-year-old Joshua and three-year-old Cassandra, were also dead, shot multiple times in their beds. John Gomez had been shot seven times, but was still alive. A police officer asked him, "Did the ex-boyfriend do this? Who did that?" Gomez answered, "Ex-boyfriend." He later died from his wounds.

Robin Johnstone also heard noise in the trailer park and went outside to investigate. She saw people running, then heard gunshots, then saw Gomez running. She then saw Martinez run in front of Graves's house, and also saw him wearing a gun holster around his waist. Johnstone's son, Keith Burrow, saw Martinez shoot Fuentes.

The next day, Martinez called 911 from Del Rio, some 400 miles away. He said that he was hearing voices and needed medical attention. He was taken to Kerrville State Hospital for a mental evaluation. Two weeks later, authorities found that he had given them a false name and that he was wanted for the killings in Brazoria County. Police then searched his car and found a gun belt. A box designed to hold a 9mm pistol - the same kind of weapon used for the killings - was found in Martinez's room in his mother's home. The murder weapon was never found.

At his trial, Martinez said, "God knows my heart. I'm innocent."

A jury convicted Martinez of four counts of capital murder in April 1998 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 2000. In their appeals, Martinez' lawyers argued that his epilepsy triggered the shooting spree. They also claimed Martinez was mentally ill. In 2004, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted their request to have these claims examined in a hearing, but they were ultimately denied.

Martinez declined to speak with reporters in the week preceding his execution.

The execution was delayed for about a half hour while Martinez' final appeals were being considered. When he was strapped to the execution gurney, he was asked - as all condemned prisoners are - if he wanted to make a final statement, and advised that he had only two minutes to make it. Martinez first expressed love to his relatives. Next, he addressed Veronica Fuentes sister:

"I know what you've been told and that's all a lie. John Gomez killed your kids and sister. I know y'all love John Gomez, but he was a violent man. I wish I would have shot him in the leg, then he would be here. Those investigators were just trying to convict somebody. My gun had a hair trigger. Veronica told me to come and get my herb book and she went to the back of the closet. Her kids had asthma and I lent her the book. She said she would give it to me next time. She didn't want to break up; we still talked. She told me to come over. John Gomez said, 'Veronica does not have the money for your book, so don't come over.' Me being a hot shot I went over there, and I had my gun. I had children and nephews where I lived, so I had to keep my gun in my truck for self defense. Veronica invited me in her house, the kids were still awake, fixing to go to bed. I put the gun under my shirt and said hi to Josh and Cassandra. John Gomez was there. He told Veronica that 'he doesn't love you.' I didn't care ..."

Martinez's last statement was cut short as the lethal injection was administered. He was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m.