2 executions in Texas this week - Nov 15 and 16
There are two executions scheduled in Texas this week. Robert Rowell is scheduled for execution Tuesday, Nov 15, and Shannon Thomas is scheduled for execution on Wednesday, Nov 16.
On 05/10/1993 in Houston, Texas, Rowell entered a crack house in an attempt to rob Irving Wright of drugs and money. Rowell started shooting with a 25 caliber pistol striking all three victims, killing Wright and Raymond David Mata. Another man was shot in the left arm and leg and paralyzed. Rowell then robbed the victims of unknown money and fled the scene by car. Rowell came to the home of people with whom he was supposedly friends in search of drugs and money. While he probably could have gotten what he wanted with very little resistance from Wright due to his size, Rowell chose instead to beat him in the head with a claw hammer. Then, still receiving no resistance from any of the victims, Rowell marched all three into the bathroom and shot them. One of the victims also had signs of continued beatings after he was shot. Rowell then proceeded to take a shower and clean himself up.
On Dec. 24, 1993, Shannon Thomas and Keith Clay committed the triple murder of Roberto Rios; Rios' 13-year-old son, Victor; and Rios' 10-year-old daughter, Maria, at Rios' home. Clay confessed to only "roughing up" Roberto Rios, who was found bound with duct tape, beaten with a pair of bolt cutters, stabbed in the neck, and shot three times. His two children were found shot execution style in the back of the head. Shannon Thomas was also present with Keith Bernard Clay during the murder of a convenience store clerk less than two weeks later.
Thomas was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for his role as the primary actor in the Rios family murders. On Jan. 4, 1994, Melathethil Tom Varughese, the clerk at the Texaco station who was working alone, was found lying on the floor behind the cashier's booth with Christmas tree lights wrapped around his wrists. Two $20 bills were found on the floor under the register, and eight shell casings were found scattered around the store. Varughese had been shot six times in various parts of his body. He suffered multiple lacerations on his face and forehead, and suffered extensive blunt force trauma to the head, including a fractured skull. Items missing from the store included: most of the money in the cash register, a pistol usually kept behind the counter, and a small red cigar box kept behind the counter that occasionally had money in it. Evidence presented at trial indicated that the eight shell casings found at the scene came from the same 9 mm Hi-Point pistol.
The bullets found in Varughese's body were from two different guns, one a 9 mm, and the other, a revolver like the one kept under the cash register. Houston authorities arrested Clay the following December under suspicion for Varughese's murder and for the 1993 Christmas Eve triple murder of the Roberto Rios family that had occurred two weeks before the Varughese murder. Clay was subsequently convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for his role in the Varughese robbery/murder. Evidence presented during the punishment phase of Clay's capital murder trial included his admitted presence and participation in the Rios family incident.
