LUIS CERVANTES SALAZAR (EXECUTED IN TEXAS ON MARCH 11, 2009)

            On this date, March 11, 2009, a Hispanic American repeat offender, Luis Cervantes Salazar, was executed by lethal injection in Texas. He had murdered once and the case went unsolved and he killed again, but did not get away this time. I will post his profile from clarkprosecutor.org. Please go to this blog post to hear from the victims’ families. 

Luis Cervantes Salazar

Summary: Salazar entered Martha Sanchez’s home through a window, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and entered Sanchez’s bedroom, where he began stabbing the woman in the chest. Sanchez’s son, 10-year-old Erick, woke up to his mother's scream and went into his mother's bedroom, where he saw Salazar stabbing her. When Erick attempted to grab the knife, Salazar stabbed the boy in the chest. Sanchez ran to get help from a neighbor. Salazar later called 9-1-1 to turn himself into police, and confessed to the crime. The medical examiner testified that Sanchez suffered physical injuries that indicated an attempted sexual assault. In testimony at his trial, Salazar did not deny stabbing Sanchez and her son, but that he felt good during acts of violence and that he had dreamed of killing people.

Citations:
Salazar v. Quarterman, 260 Fed.Appx. 643 (Tex.Cr.App. 2007) (Habeas). 

Final/Special Meal:

A cheeseburger, a meat pizza, four slices of ham or bologna, chicken, three pieces of fried fish with lemons, french fries with no skin, a cup of extra olives and pickles and orange or grape juice.

Final Words:

Salazar expressed love to friends and relatives, asked for forgiveness and laughed several times from the death chamber gurney. "My heart is going ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump," Salazar said, adding a "Hah, hah!" He never acknowledged the crime, however, or addressed the mother, son, two sisters and brother of his victim who watched through a window. After reciting the Lord's Prayer and in the midst of a confession asking for forgiveness for the "sins that I can remember," the lethal drugs took effect. Nine minutes later he was pronounced dead. 

Salazar, Luis Cervantes
Date of Birth: 8/31/70
DR#: 999285
Date Received: 10/30/98
Education: 11 years
Occupation: unknown
Date of Offense: 10/11/97
County of Offense: Bexar
Native County: Eastland, Texas
Race: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: 176 

Prior Prison Record: none 

Summary of incident: On October 11, 1997, Salazar murdered a 28-year-old hispanic female. Salazar crawled through a front window of a private residence. He tried to sexually assault the victim when she woke up. Salazar then stabbed her multiple times in the chest when her 10-year-old son heard her screaming. The victim's son rushed to his mother's aid and was stabbed one time in the chest. Her son was able to get up and run to a neighbor's house and call the police. When they returned to the home, they found the victim unresponsive on the bedroom floor with multiple stab wounds to her chest area. A kitchen knife was lying on the floor by her head. The victim's 2-year-old daughter and 4-month-old baby were also in the bed with her.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

Luis Cervantes Salazar, 38, was executed by lethal injection on 11 March 2009 in Huntsville, Texas for the attempted rape and murder of a woman in her home.

On 11 October 1997, Salazar, then 27, crawled through a front window of Martha Sanchez's home in San Antonio in the early morning, while Sanchez and her three children were asleep. Salazar grabbed a knife from the kitchen and then entered Sanchez's bedroom. Salazar then began stabbing her in the chest. Her 10-year-old son, Erick, was awakened by his mother's screaming and ran into her room. Salazar then stabbed him once in the chest. Erick then ran to a neighbor's house for help. One of the neighbors, known in the court record only as Adrian, went to the home and removed the victim's 2-year-old daughter, Brianna, and 4-month-old son, Timothy, from the victim's bedroom to safety. Adrian also checked the victim's pulse and found that she was dead. The paramedics who arrived soon afterward confirmed that Sanchez was dead and took Erick to the hospital.

Police found Sanchez on the bedroom floor with multiple stab wounds to her chest area. A kitchen knife was lying on the floor by her head. They also observed a trail of muddy footprints leading from the front window to the kitchen, then to the bedroom. The telephone lines outside the house had been cut.

Later that day, Salazar called the police to turn himself in. Erick's wounds were superficial.

At Salazar's trial, the medical examiner testified that the victim had bruises, contusions, and scratches on her inner and outer thighs that indicated a sexual assault had been attempted a few minutes before the victim's death. She did not suffer any genital injuries, and her clothing had not been removed.

Erick testified that he woke up and heard his mother screaming, "Luis, why are you doing this? Leave me alone!" He then went to his mother's bedroom and saw Salazar stabbing her. Erick attempted to grab the knife, but Salazar stabbed him. Sanchez then told Erick to go get help, which he did.

Sylvia Montenegro testified that she answered her door to find Erick bleeding from his chest and begging frantically for help. He told her that someone had broken into the home and stabbed him and his mother. Erick told her the attacker was Luis Salazar. Montenegro sent her daughter's fiance, Adrian, over to the house. After Adrian returned with the victim's two youngest children, Montenegro changed 2-year-old Brianna's clothes, which were covered in her mother's blood.

Salazar had lived next door to the victim and her family for about three years and was well acquainted with them. Sanchez's husband, Oscar Ochoa, had helped Salazar get a job at the retail store where he worked. Ochoa testified, however, that earlier in 1997, Salazar approached Sanchez in her home and asked if he could borrow some sugar, but "not that kind of sugar." Ochoa confronted Salazar and ordered him to stay away from the family's home. From that point on, Sanchez was afraid of Salazar. Salazar moved out of the house in September 1997.

Ochoa was working the night his wife was murdered. He testified that, as was his custom when working the graveyard shift, he called home and spoke to his wife at about 12:30 a.m.

Salazar testified that on the night of the murder, he had been at a friend's home with his brother, smoking marijuana, snorting cocaine, and drinking beer and liquor. Some time after 3:00 a.m., he decided to go to his old home, which his mother-in-law still owned, and where he still had some personal belongings. He testified that he mistakenly approached Sanchez' home instead of his mother-in-law's and, since he had no key, he decided to enter through the window. He said that once he was inside, her heard a frightening noise and obtained a knife from the kitchen. As he was walking out of the kitchen, he bumped into someone and began stabbing the unknown person. He then felt a pain in his arm and realized someone was behind him, so he began stabbing at that second person as well. When he heard someone say "Run, Erick!", he realized he was in the wrong house, and he left.

Salazar testified that in his blacked-out state of mind, he did not remember the victim screaming, "Luis, why are you doing this to me?" or Erick telling him to leave Sanchez alone. He also denied cutting the telephone lines outside and trying to rape Sanchez, although he admitted that he found the victim sexually desirable, that he wanted to have intercourse with her, and had propositioned her in the past. Salazar further testified that he felt good during acts of violence and that had dreamed of killing people.

Salazar had no previous felony convictions, but in 1988 he was arrested for three convenience store robberies. He was not charged at the time, but after his capital murder trial, he was tried and convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery for the 1988 incidents. He received two additional life sentences for those convictions. In addition, testimony at his punishment hearing indicated that in 1991, he raped a mentally retarded 18-year-old woman.

A jury convicted Salazar of capital murder in October 1998 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in April 2001. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In his last statement, Salazar expressed love to his family, friends, and minister. Next, he recited the Lord's Prayer. He then asked Jesus to forgive his sins. He did not address his crime or speak to the witnesses who attended on behalf of his victim. With his last statement completed, the lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

Update: About an hour and a half before his execution, Salazar confessed to a spiritual counselor about the crimes he had committed. One of those crimes included the 1992 fatal stabbing of a convenience store clerk in San Antonio. San Antonio police said that Salazar's confession solved the murder of Melissa Morales, a cold case in which Salazar had not been previously considered a suspect. 

Luis Cervantes Salazar

ProDeathPenalty.com

In October of 1997, Martha Sanchez lived at 250 Future Street in San Antonio with her husband Oscar Ochoa, ten-year-old stepson Erick, two-year old daughter Brianna, and four-month old son Timothy. For approximately three years, Luis Salazar lived next door to Martha Sanchez and her family and was well-acquainted with them. In fact, Ochoa had helped Salazar obtain employment at the Super K-Mart where Ochoa himself worked. The family’s encounters with Salazar, however, were not always positive. Ochoa testified that earlier in 1997 Salazar approached Martha in her home and asked if he could borrow some sugar, but “not that kind of sugar.” Ochoa confronted Salazar and ordered him to stay away from the family’s home. According to Ochoa’s testimony, Martha thereafter became afraid of Salazar. 

Martha’s 19-year-old niece Nicole also testified that she had served as a babysitter at the family’s home and spent the night there on numerous occasions. On several of those occasions, she explained, Salazar would call late in the evening asking for Martha’s company. According to Nicole, however, Martha refused to speak with Salazar. Salazar moved out of his house around September of 1997 and took up residence at 122 Ashland in San Antonio. Sanchez last spoke to Ochoa in the early morning hours of October 11, 1997. As was his custom when working the “graveyard” shift, Ochoa called home from work at about 12:30 a.m. 

Evidence indicated that, at some time after that phone call, Salazar entered Martha’s home through the left front window, using an empty milk crate to climb into the home. A trail of muddy footprints led from the window inside the house. Salazar retrieved a knife from the kitchen and entered Martha’s bedroom. As Salazar began stabbing Martha, a struggle ensued, leaving the bedroom in disarray. Stepson Erick testified that he awoke to Martha’s scream: “Luis, why are you doing this? Leave me alone!” Erick then entered the bedroom where he saw his stepmother struggle while Salazar was stabbing her. As Erick attempted to grab the knife, Salazar stabbed him in the chest. Martha instructed Erick to leave and call for help, and he did so, ultimately finding his way to the home of a woman named Sylvia, who lived nearby. Sylvia testified that she answered her door to find Erick bleeding from his chest and begging frantically for help. He told her that someone had broken into the home and stabbed both him and his stepmother. Erick identified Salazar as the attacker. Sylvia called 911 and sent her future son-in-law Adrian to the Sanchez home to investigate. Adrian removed the two youngest children, Brianna and Timothy, safely from the home. He testified that he then entered the home again and, after checking Martha’s pulse, realized that she was dead. An EMS unit soon arrived, confirmed Martha’s death and transported Erick to University Hospital. Salazar had fled the scene. 

Later, however, Salazar telephoned 911 to turn himself into police, who arrested him without incident and informed him of his Miranda rights. Meanwhile, police approached Ochoa at work and informed him of his wife’s death. Physical evidence showed that Martha had suffered stab wounds to the heart, lungs, and aorta, causing her death. Moreover, the medical examiner testified that Martha’s death was not immediate; it took several minutes for her to die. In addition, Martha suffered contusions and skin abrasions on the outer thigh, as well as contusions to the inner thigh. According to the medical examiner, although Martha suffered no genital injuries, no sperm was present, and her clothes had not been removed, this pattern of bruises and scratches indicated an attempted sexual assault. Evidence at the scene also indicated that the telephone lines outside the home had been cut and that the interior of the home was in shambles, although no fingerprints were found on the front windows. Investigators found a cordless phone under Martha’s left arm and the bloody kitchen knife on a coffee table near Martha’s bedroom. 

Salazar testified at trial. Although he did not deny that his actions caused Martha’s death, he offered his own version of the incident. He claimed that, on the evening of October 11, he and his brother went to a friend’s home in San Antonio, where they smoked marijuana and snorted cocaine, and they drank beer and liquor. He left the home between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., went to a local taco bar but was unable to find a ride home. He thus decided to go to his old home on Future Street, which his mother-in-law still owned and at which he still kept some personal belongings. Salazar testified that although he intended to go to the home at 254 Future, he mistakenly approached Sanchez’s home at 250 Future. And because he no longer had his key to the home at 254 Future, he decided to enter through the window. Once inside, he claimed (believing that he was in his own home) that he heard a frightening noise. Salazar then obtained a knife from the kitchen. He testified that he walked out of the kitchen, bumped into a person he could not see, became frightened, and began stabbing the unknown person. Salazar further stated that, during his stabbing frenzy, he felt a pain in his arm, realized that someone was behind him, and he began stabbing that person, as well. He then saw the person behind him and heard the victim say “Run!” or “run Erick!” 

According to Salazar, he subsequently realized that he was in the wrong home and simply left the house. Salazar testified that his state of mind during the incident was similar to a black-out. He stated that he did not remember Martha screaming “Luis, why are you doing this to me?” he did not remember Brianna crying and he did not remember Erick telling him to leave Martha alone. He also denied cutting the telephone lines at 250 Future and denied trying to rape Martha, although he offered no explanation for the bruises and abrasions on her legs. At trial, Salazar admitted stabbing Martha Sanchez to death after entering her house without consent. He further testified that he found her attractive, he desired to have intercourse with her, and he had recently propositioned her. Salazar also admitted that he told his wife before the murder that violence made him feel good and that he had dreams about killing people. 

The prosecution also presented evidence that Martha Sanchez was afraid of Salazar and that Salazar had committed a prior sexual assault on an acquaintance, although he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. There was evidence that the telephone lines had been cut before Salazar went into the house. Salazar’s muddy footprints led directly from the point of entry to the kitchen where he obtained two knives, which were the murder weapons. He then went to Martha Sanchez’s bedroom. The only signs of struggle were in Martha Sanchez’s bedroom and her blood was found only in her bedroom. Martha Sanchez’s body was found on the floor of her bedroom on top of some of her bedding. There was no reason for Salazar to be in Martha Sanchez’s house, other than his claim that he entered by mistake. 

The medical examiner testified that the bruise pattern on Martha Sanchez’s legs was consistent with a person wrapping his hands around her knees and legs in a forcible attempt to separate her legs. The medical examiner concluded, based on her experience with known rape victims, that the bruise pattern indicated an attempted sexual assault. She gave specific testimony regarding the age, size and placement of the bruises and abrasions on Martha Sanchez’s body and explained why those factors supported her conclusion. She also testified that the bruise pattern on Martha Sanchez’s legs, the mud on Martha Sanchez’s inner thigh, and the fingernail abrasions on her thighs was inconsistent with Salazar’s version of events. The medical examiner gave specific, cogent reasons for her conclusion that the bruise pattern indicated an attempted sexual assault. She pointed to ten different contusions and a “scratch abrasion” which formed this pattern. She placed particular importance on four contusions on the inside of her knee and thigh. 

The defense called no witnesses other than Salazar and rested after Salazar’s testimony. Salazar was charged with a single count of capital murder committed during the course of committing or attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault and burglary. At trial, Salazar’s intent to commit a sexual assault on the night of the murder was an important issue. Among other evidence, the prosecution elicited testimony from the medical examiner that the pattern of contusions on the victim’s body indicated an attempted sexual assault contemporaneous with her death. The medical examiner’s opinion about the pattern of contusions on Martha Sanchez’s body was not expressed in the autopsy report, and defense counsel attempted unsuccessfully to keep this testimony from the jury. Defense counsel also attempted to discredit the medical examiner’s opinion on cross-examination, but he did not consult with an independent pathologist or call any rebuttal witnesses to refute the medical examiner’s testimony. 

Although a number of lesser-included offenses were included in the jury charge, Salazar was convicted of capital murder as charged in the indictment and sentenced to death. He appealed directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed the conviction and death sentence in an unpublished opinion.