The state of Texas executed David Renteria, a 53-year-old man convicted of kidnapping and murdering a 5-year-old girl from Walmart in 2001.
After receiving an injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville Thursday for the murder of 5-year-old Alexandra Flores, David Renteria, 53, was declared dead at 7:11 p.m. CST.
Before being put to death, Renteria prayed, sang, and begged for forgiveness.
“I’m sorry for all the wrongs I have done. And for those who have called for my death, who are about to murder me, I forgive you,” he told those present.
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“There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about the fateful events of that day and what transpired,” he said, looking at his victim’s relatives. “There are no words to describe what you’re going through, and I understand that.”
Ignacio and Sandra Frausto, the siblings of Alexandra Flores, were present for the execution. Ignacio is said to have sobbed as he spoke of his sister after she was given the death penalty, saying, “I want to recognize her, not forget about her.”
“It took 22 years but the time came. It is done. We can finally and really begin to heal — 22 years of wondering what was going to happen,” he said, according to the AP.
In 2001, while on probation for a separate crime, Renteria was implicated in the disappearance and murder of 5-year-old Alexandra Flores.
Security footage from a local Walmart showed a man, resembling Renteria, leading the child away.
The following day, Alexandra’s partially burned body was found miles away. The autopsy revealed a tragic end for the young girl – blunt force trauma to the head, strangulation, and subsequent burning.
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According to the authorities, Renteria, a sex offender with a criminal record, carried out the kidnapping and murder on his own, and his attorneys chose not to bring up this defense during his trial. Prosecutors said that blood found in Renteria’s van matched the girl’s DNA, and that his palm print was discovered on a plastic bag placed over the girl’s head prior to her body being burned.
It was alleged that Renteria spent approximately forty minutes circling the store before focusing on the five-year-old girl. She was seen following Renteria out of the store on grainy security footage.
Renteria was the eighth prisoner executed in Texas this year.
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