Execution Report: Alexander Martinez

Alexander Rey Martinez, 29, was executed by lethal injection on 7 June 2005 in Huntsville, Texas for the robbery and murder of a 45-year-old woman.

On 12 August 2001, Martinez, then 25, telephoned an escort agency and arranged for a woman to meet him at his Houston home. When Helen Oliveros arrived, she asked Martinez for the $300 he had agreed to pay. Martinez argued about the amount and whether he was going to pay. Oliveros then stated that she was going to leave, and began gathering her things. Martinez then put a knife to Oliveros' neck and had sex with her. Martinez then cut Oliveros' throat, and she died. Martinez then took $150 and some drugs from the victim. He hid the body in a closet for three days, then dumped it in a field.

On 23 August, Martinez attacked his stepmother, Maria Martinez, slashing her throat. She survived after spending nine days in the hospital. Alexander was arrested later that day after a relative he confided in notified the police. While in custody, Martinez confessed to killing Oliveros. Her body - nude and stuffed inside garbage bags - was found that day.

While awaiting trial, Martinez, who had extensive tatoos on his arms and torso, had two more added to his arms. They were tombstones bearing the names of his victims. Maria's tombstone read "To be continued." Oliveros' read "$300" and "R.I.P."

Martinez had numerous prior convictions and had been in and out of jail and prison since the age of 15. In August 1994, he was convicted of attempted murder for stabbing a worker at a pizza restaurant. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison. He served approximately one year before being paroled in August 1995. He was back behind bars a month later, on a felony theft conviction. He was paroled again on the attempted murder sentence in July 2001. He killed Oliveros 23 days later.

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