Execution Report: Jerry McFadden

Jerry Walter McFadden, 51, was executed by lethal injection on 14 October 1999 in Huntsville, Texas, for the abduction and murder of three people.

On 4 May 1986, McFadden, then 38, abducted three young people -- Gena Turner, 20, Bryan Boone, 19, and Suzanne Harrison, 18 -- who were on their way to an outing at Lake Hawkins in northeast Texas. He raped and sodomized Harrison and then strangled her with her panties. McFadden dumped her body in a state park about 25 miles north of the lake. He then drove another 15 miles to the northeast, shot Turner once and Boone twice with a .38-caliber pistol, and left their bodies in a ditch.

Boone's pickup was found in a parking area at Lake Hawkins at 1:20 a.m. on 5 May. Harrison's and Turner's purses were inside. Harrison's body was discovered by a park cleanup crew.

Clifton and Denise Phillips, who were also at Lake Hawkins on 4 May, told police that a man robbed them at about 6:30 p.m. They described his blue and white truck and gave the first five digits of his license plate. They said that the man used a blue steel revolver, .38 or .357-caliber. McFadden was arrested while driving a blue and white Ford Bronco with a license plate matching the one reported by the Phillips. The decomposed bodies of Brian Boone and Gina Turner were discovered on 10 May.

In July 1986, while awaiting trial for the triple murder, McFadden escaped from jail. He took a female jailor hostage and escaped in her car. The hostage escaped after 28 hours. McFadden was captured after the largest manhunt in Texas history, involving 800 law enforcement officers. He was convicted of armed robbery in connection with this incident in August 1986 and sentenced to life in prison.

Numerous witnesses placed McFadden at the scenes of the triple murder. In addition to the Phillips' testimony, David Lee Marsh testified to seeing McFadden drive by his house on Lake Hawkins in a blue and white Ford Bronco pickup. Marsh identified McFadden as the driver from a police lineup.

Gregory Boykin and Levida Pace testified that they were sitting on the front porch of Pace's house on Lake Hawkins, and that they saw McFadden drive by twice that evening. The first time was at approximately 7:20 p.m. The second time was at about 8:00 p.m. Boykin and Pace testified that in addition to McFadden, they saw Brian Boone and perhaps two or three other people in the truck. They waved at Boone, but he did not acknolwedge them.

Tim Emerson testified that he returned home from a party at about 3:00 a.m. on 5 May 1986. He lived near Ore City, about 40 miles northeast of Lake Hawkins. Emerson testified that he heard two gunshots, a brief pause, and a third shot. Tim's father, Maynard Emerson, testified that he heard the same gunshots, and also that he heard a vehicle speed by four or five minutes later.

Debbie West testified that she had been romantically involved with McFadden up until his arrest. She stated that he kept a .38-caliber revolver in her car, and that it was missing the day after Suzanne Harrison's murder. West supplied some spent ammunition from the gun to police. Firearms examiners testified that the bullets removed from Brian Boone's body were from the same type of revolver described by West.

A forensic specialist testified that hair samples taken from McFadden at the time of his arrest matched Suzanne Harrison, and that fiber samples taken at the same time matched the sweater Harrison was wearing at the time of her murder.

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