In this photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is death row inmate Jose Villegas, 38, who was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Erida Salazar, her 3-year-old son, Jacob, and her mother, Alma Perez, 51. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice) (The Associated Press)
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, her young son and her mother 13 years ago at a Corpus Christi home has been executed by Texas prison authorities.
Jose Villegas was lethally injected Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments he was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty.
The 39-year-old was pronounced dead at 7:04 p.m. CDT, 11 minutes after being given a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
He was put to death for fatally stabbing Erida Salazar, her 3-year-old son Jacob and her 51-year-old mother Alma Perez in January 2001.
He became the seventh Texas inmate executed this year, and the third put to death with a new stock of pentobarbital from a provider corrections officials won't identify.
Texas is the nation's most active death penalty state.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
