Execution Report: Leonard Rojas

Leonard Uresti Rojas, 52, was executed by lethal injection on 4 December 2002 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of two people.

Leonard Rojas lived in Alvarado, a small town south of Fort Worth, with his common-law wife, Jo Ann Reed, and his brother, David Rojas. On the morning of 27 December 1994, Leonard Rojas, then 44, was in the kitchen, making coffee, after a night of drinking and using drugs. He saw Reed, 34, slip out of his brother's bedroom. He accused her of sleeping with him, but she denied the accusation. They then went into their bedroom, where she performed oral sex on him. Rojas then shot Reed between the eyes with a .32-caliber handgun. Next, Rojas called for his brother, 43, and shot him three times in the bathroom. Returning to the bedroom, Rojas saw that Reed was still breathing, so he tied a plastic bag over her head and stacked pillows and blankets on her body.

After the killings, Rojas went back to the kitchen and had a cup of coffee. Two people telephoned for Reed. Rojas told them that she was ill and could not come to the phone. Next, unable to find his car keys, Rojas hitchhiked to the bus station in Fort Worth and bought a ticket to Atlanta, Georgia. When he reached Dallas, he confessed to security guards at the bus station. He later confessed to Dallas County sheriff's deputies, including taking them on a videotaped walk-through of the crime scene.

Rojas had previously served three prison sentences for drug offenses. The first was in Germany, where he was stationed while serving in the U.S. Army. In 1976, Rojas was convicted of selling heroin in California. His third prison sentence was for selling cocaine in Nevada in 1990.

Continued on Page 2