Execution Report: Frank Garcia

Frank Martinez Garcia, 39, was executed by lethal injection on 27 October 2011 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of his wife and a police officer during an argument.

On 29 March 2001 in San Antonio, Jessica Garcia, 21, called her stepmother, Sylvia Duran, and said she was ready to leave the home she was sharing with her husband, Frank, then 28, their two children, 5 and 2, and Frank's parents. Duran came to pick her up, bringing Jessica's uncle and aunt, John and Rosario Luna.

Meanwhile, Frank's mother, Eustacia Garcia, 68, called her son at work to alert him that Jessica was attempting to leave with the children. He rushed home to stop her.

When Duran and the Lunas arrived, Jessica came outside. Frank then rushed up, grabbed his wife in a headlock, and dragged her inside.

San Antonio police officer Hector Garza, 48, arrived at the house. It was his second visit to the home that morning. He went inside and entered the bedroom where the couple was arguing. When he attempted to separate them, Garcia, who had his back to Garza, suddenly spun around and shot him in the head with a Mac-10 semiautomatic handgun. He then shot Jessica six times, killing her. He then went outside, firing wildly until he was out of ammunition. He went back inside, picked up an AK-47 rifle, and shot Garza again as he lay on the ground. He then went outside again and continued shooting. One of his shots missed the vice-principal of the local elementary school and struck the school door. He shot at and missed another bystander and hit some parked cars. He chased after John Luna, shooting him and wounding him in the leg.

Robert Carter, Garza's partner, was the first police officer to respond to the shooting. When Garcia saw Carter, he dropped the AK-47, raised his hands, and shouted, "I give up."

Garcia confessed to the killings in a written statement. He said he shot Garza in the head because he knew officers wore protective vests. "When I shot, I aimed for his head and that's where I hit him," he said. "I don't know how many times I shot my gun. I just turned real fast. I saw the officer go down. The officer never had his gun out that I noticed." Garcia said he then "went crazy", turned toward his wife, and shot her.

"I could have killed a lot more," he told detectives.

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