A Texas man convicted of strangling a 5-year-old girl who was taken from a Walmart store and burning her body has been executed.
David Renteria, 53, was put to death at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, for the 2001 murder of Alexandra Flores. He was pronounced dead at 7:11 p.m. CST on Thursday evening.
Renteria prayed, sang and asked for forgiveness before his execution, according to a report by the Associated Press.
"I'm sorry for all the wrongs I have done. And for those who have called for my death, who are about to murder me, I forgive you," Renteria said, prior to receiving the lethal injection. Relatives of Flores watched on as he told them: "There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about the fateful events of that day and what transpired. There are no words to describe what you're going through, and I understand that."
Renteria's sister and friend were also present at his execution. He told them: "I love you all, I truly do. I'll see you in the next life."
He began reciting "The Lord's Prayer" before saying he could "taste" the drug. Shortly afterward, all movement stopped. What Renteria chose for his last meal has not yet been made public.
Flores was abducted by Renteria on November 18, 2001, from a Walmart store in El Paso. She was strangled to death and her body was set on fire. She was discovered in an alley around 16 miles from where she was abducted the following day.
Blood found in Renteria's van matched her DNA and a palm print was found on a plastic bag put over the girl's head, prosecutors said. Surveillance footage from the time shows Flores following Renteria out of the store, according to the Associated Press.
Renteria had previously claimed he was forced to abduct the girl by members of a gang called Barrio Azteca, saying they made threats against his family. He also claimed it was the gang members who killed her.
Prior to his death, Renteria's attorneys unsuccessfully filed appeals to halt the execution. The U.S. Supreme Court declined two separate defense requests for a stay on Thursday. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday voted 7-0 against commuting Renteria's death sentence to a lesser penalty.
"I want to recognize her, not forget about her," Ignacio Frausto, Flores's brother, told reporters following the execution while holding a photo collage of his sister. "It took 22 years but the time came. It is done. We can finally and really begin to heal—22 years of wondering what was going to happen."
His execution was one of two that took place on Thursday. In Alabama, inmate Casey McWhorter was killed by lethal injection for the murder of a man during a 1993 robbery.
Renteria was the eighth inmate in Texas put to death this year. There have been 23 executions in the U.S. so far in 2023.
Newsweek has contacted Texas Department of Criminal Justice for comment via email.
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