On this date, January 18, 2018, the
Tourniquet Serial Killer, Anthony Shore was executed by lethal injection in Texas.
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Anthony
Allen Shore
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After November 2004
inmate photograph (mugshot) of American serial killer Anthony Allen Shore.
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Born
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June 25, 1962
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Died
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January 18, 2018 (aged 55)
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Cause of
death
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Other names
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The Tourniquet Killer
The Strangler
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Criminal
penalty
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Death (November 15, 2004)
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Details
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Victims
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4+
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Span of crimes
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September 26, 1986–July 6, 1995
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Country
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United States
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State(s)
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Date apprehended
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October 24, 2003
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Anthony Allen Shore (June 25, 1962 – January 18, 2018) was an American serial
killer and child molester who was responsible for the slayings
of one woman and three girls. He operated from 1986 to 2000, and was known as
the "Tourniquet Killer" because of his use of a ligature with either a toothbrush or bamboo stick to
tighten or loosen the ligature. The instrument was similar to a twitch,
a tool used by farmers to control horses. Shore was sentenced to death in 2004,
and executed by lethal injection on January 18, 2018.
He
married Gina Lynn Worley in 1983; they had two daughters. They later divorced
and Shore was given custody of his two young girls. He married Amy Lynch in
1997, and divorced after Lynch accused him of abuse.
Murders
and assaults
Laurie
Lee Tremblay
Shore's
first known victim was 14-year-old Laurie Tremblay, who was killed on September
26, 1986. Tremblay was walking to school when she was attacked. After attempting
to sexually assault her, Shore strangled Tremblay. Her body was dumped behind a
Mexican restaurant in Houston.
Maria
del Carmen Estrada
Maria
del Carmen Estrada, 21, was killed on April 16, 1992. She had been sexually
assaulted and strangled. Estrada was a Mexican immigrant, working as a nanny.
Estrada's body was found in the back of a Dairy Queen that same day.
Selma
Janske
On
October 19, 1993, Shore entered the home of 14-year-old Selma Janske, then
bound and sexually assaulted her; however, he did not kill her, and instead
fled the scene on foot.
Diana
Rebollar
Diana
Rebollar, 9, was killed on August 8, 1994. She had been beaten, sexually
assaulted and strangled. She lived in the Houston
Heights area of Houston, at the front of a small duplex. The day of her
death, she was seen at a local grocery store. Employees saw her leave the store
safely, but she never returned home. She was found the next day on a loading
dock behind a building. One lead for police was given by a neighbor who
described a van that frequented the area. She was connected to the Maria del
Carmen Estrada case by the killer's MO:
a rope with a bamboo stick attached was found around her neck.
Dana
Sanchez
Dana Sanchez, 16, was killed
on July 6, 1995. Shore offered her a ride in his van. He made advances to her,
which she resisted; she was then strangled. Seven days later, an anonymous
telephone call to a local news station, actually made by Shore, directed police
to her body in a Harris County field.
Investigation
In
1998, Shore was convicted of molesting his two daughters, Tiffany and Amber,
and as a result he was required to provide police with a DNA sample. In 2000,
detectives pulled Maria del Carmen Estrada's case from the cold files, tested
DNA evidence from underneath Estrada's fingernails, and received a full genetic
profile. The results were not immediately matched to Shore because of problems
at the lab. As a result of an audit, the lab was closed in 2002; certain
samples, however, including those taken from Estrada's nails, were sent to
another laboratory for retesting. The results were not matched until 2003,
which led to Shore's arrest for Estrada's murder.
Eleven
hours into his interrogation, Shore confessed to the murders of Maria del
Carmen Estrada, Diana Rebollar, and Dana Sanchez. He also confessed to the 1987
murder of fourteen-year-old Laurie Tremblay and the 1994 rape of a
fourteen-year-old girl. Detectives had no way of linking this killing to the
other three murders because Tremblay was strangled with a ligature. When asked
why he switched to a tourniquet, Shore replied, "because I hurt my finger
while murdering Tremblay."
Trial
and conviction
Despite
Shore's confession to the murders of four people and the rape of another,
prosecutor Kelly Siegler decided to charge Shore for only Estrada's murder,
because it contained the most forensic evidence. His trial began in late
October 2004. The jury found Shore guilty of capital
murder. During the sentencing phase, Shore's only surviving victim
testified. After less than an hour of deliberations, the jury recommended that
Shore be put to death, which Shore himself had asked for. He was sentenced to
death on November 15, 2004.
Execution
Shore
was executed by lethal injection on January 18, 2018, at 6:28 pm
(CST), the first person executed in the United States in 2018.
He was 55 years old. Before the execution he confessed that "I made my
peace" and his last words were "Ooh-ee, I can feel that!".
OTHER
LINKS:
1a. "Anthony Allen Shore's reign of terror
is officially over," Andy Kahan, the city of Houston crime victims'
advocate, said, speaking for the families of Shore's victims. "There's a
reason we have the death penalty in the state of Texas and Anthony Shore is on
the top of the list. This has been a long, arduous journey that has taken over
20 years for victims' families."
Tourniquet Killer' executed in Texas for 1992
strangling
1b.
Anthony Shore execution rescheduled until January 2018
1c. "Anthony Shore is the worst of the
worst," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "He's a serial
killer. He took pleasure in his victims' suffering. He's appropriate for the
death penalty."
1d. 'I can feel that!': Texas 'Tourniquet
Killer' claims drug used to kill him 'burned' as he is executed for 1992
strangling - making him the first American put to death of 2018
