Execution Report: John Elliott

John William "Jackie" Elliott, 42, was executed by lethal injection on 4 February 2003 in Huntsville, Texas for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman.

On 13 June 1986, police were called to a crime scene in east Austin. The body of Joyce Munguia, 19, was found under an overpass. An autopsy showed that she had been beaten 16 times on the head and eight times on the face. Fragments of metal were recovered from her head. There were also signs of recent sexual intercourse.

The person who called the police was Danny Hanson, age unknown. According to Hanson, he and three other men -- John Elliott, then 26; Pete Ramirez, 26; and Ricky Elizondo, 20 -- picked up Munguia at a bus stop and invited her to drink with them in Elizondo's house. Over the next few hours, she consumed beer, grain alcohol, and cocaine with the men. She also engaged in sex with Elizondo. Hanson stated that he observed Munguia crying and slurring her speech, and she had difficulty walking. At Munguia's request, he began to walk her home.

While they were walking, Hanson stated, Elliott intercepted them. He took Munguia into a dark, wooded area and raped her. Elizondo and Ramirez followed him and also raped Munguia. This is when Hanson said he left briefly to call the police. He then returned to the scene and observed the gang-rape still in progress. He said that he heard Munguia announce that she was "going straight to the police when y'all get through." Afterward, Elliott beat Munguia to death with a chrome-plated motorcycle chain.

Police officers arrived at Elliott's house early on the morning of 14 June. His shorts and shoes were heavily splattered with blood, which was later matched to the victim.

In addition to Hanson's testimony, Elizondo also testified at Elliott's trial. He testified that he, Elliott, and Ramirez had sex with the victim, but it was consensual. He further testified that Elliott left him alone with Munguia for a moment, then returned with a chrome-plated motorcycle chain, with which he beat the victim to death.

The physical evidence presented at Elliott's trial included the blood on his shorts and shoes. In addition, Elliott's shoes matched shoe prints found at the crime scene.

Like Elizondo, Elliott claimed that the sex he had with the victim was consensual. He denied killing Munguia and stated that the murder weapon - the motorcycle chain - belonged to Elizondo.

Elliott had an earlier murder conviction. In 1982, he was convicted of intentionally killing a man in a bar fight. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison, but served only 4 months before being released due to prison overcrowding. He also had a 1984 conviction for burglary of a habitation, for which he received a sentence of 10 years' probation.

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