A Texas man who killed his family apologized to his in-laws and thanked them for their forgiveness just before his execution on Thursday evening.
Abel Revill Ochoa, 47, shot and killed five of his family members in 2002, including his wife, two daughters aged 7 and 9 months, his father-in-law and his sisters-in-law. His sister-in-law Alma survived the attack according to The Houston Chronicle.
Mr Ochoa was sentenced to death by lethal injection and was killed Thursday night at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville in Huntsville Texas. He thanked the family and professed his Christian faith with his final words.
“I would like to thank God, my dad, my Lord Jesus savior for saving me and changing my life,” he said. “I want to apologize to my in-laws for causing all this emotional pain. I love y’all and consider y’all my sister I never had. I want to thank you for forgiving me.”
When Mr Ochoa was arrested, he told police he had become stressed and tired of his life and decided to kill his family as a result. He blamed the murders on a crack addiction he had at the time.
“My body started wanting more crack,” he told police. “I knew if I asked my wife for more money, she wouldn’t let me have it. I knew she’d argue with me about the money, just like we had in the past.”
According to court records, on the day of the murders, Mr Ochoa asked his wife for $10 so he could buy crack on their way home from church. After smoking the drugs, he walked into his bedroom, grabbed a 9mm handgun and walked through his house, shooting his family as he went.
After he finished shooting, he fled the scene in his wife’s vehicle. He was arrested later and gave police a detailed confession.
In the trial, Mr Ochoa’s lawyers tried to argue he had committed the murders in a drug-induced delirium and that he was impaired. Mr Ochoa was convicted in 10 minutes.
Mr Ochoa attempted to appeal the ruling, arguing he had been inadequately represented during his trial. His lawyers said that financial limitations deprived them “of any means to effectuate his representation.”
All of Mr Ochoa’s appeals were rejected.
