Execution: Virgil Martinez
David Carson
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.
David Carson
(Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney
General's Office, Associated Press.)
--
Texas Execution Information
www.txexecutions.org
David Carson
wrote:
>"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.
Those must have been some pretty fierce children.
David Carson
--
Why do you seek the living among the dead? -- Luke 24:5
Who's Alive and Who's Dead
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