Execution Report: Troy Kunkle

Troy Albert Kunkle, 38, was executed by lethal injection on 25 January 2005 in Huntsville, Texas for the abduction, robbery, and murder of a 31-year-old man.

On 12 August 1984, Kunkle, then 18, and four companions - Aaron Adkins, 19; Russell Stanley, 17; Kunkle's girlfriend, Lora Lee Zaiontz, 18; and an unidentified person - drove together from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. After visiting the beach, Adkins and Stanley robbed a man of seven dollars at gunpoint at a convenience store. The group then drove around looking for someone else to rob. They spotted Steven Horton walking down the street, and offered him a ride home. After Horton got in the front seat, Stanley put a .22-caliber pistol to the back of his head and demanded his wallet. Horton refused. Kunkle told Stanley to kill Horton, but Stanley replied that it wasn't necessary. Kunkle then took the pistol from Stanley, held it to Horton's head, and said, "We're going to take you back here and blow your brains out." Adkins drove the car behind a skating rink, where Kunkle shot Horton once in the back of the head. They then pushed Horton's body from the car, and Zaiontz took his wallet, which contained $13.

According to trial testimony, Kunkle said, "another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath" after the killing. These words are the refrain to "No Remorse," a song from Metallica's 1983 album "Kill 'Em All." As the judge was listening to the album - which depicts a pool of blood on the cover - Kunkle reportedly pretended to play a guitar. He became known as the "No Remorse" killer.

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