Dennis Bagwell - Texas Death Row

Bagwell's Crime: Dennis Bagwell was convicted in the September 1995 deaths of his mother Leona Boone, 47, his half-sister Libby Best, 24, her four-year-old daughter Reba Best, and 14-year-old Tassy Boone, granddaughter of Ronald Boone, Leona's husband.

A Gruesome and Violent Attack: Ronald Boone found all four victims upon returning home from work. Leona and Tassy had been beaten and strangled so violently that their necks were broken. Tassy had also been sexually assaulted. Libby had been shot twice in the head and Reba's skull crushed with a hammer and metal exercise bar. Records indicate that Bagwell had gone to his mother's home to borrow money and killed the four when she refused his request.

The Trial: Law enforcement officers testified that based on information Bagwell's girlfried, Victoria Woldford, provided, they recovered numerous items taken from the Boone residence, including a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of shorts.

A Bloody Foot Print: An expert witness testified that one of the tennis shoes matched a bloody shoe print found at the crime scene under the body of Tassy Boone. Other witnesses testified that the tennis shoes in question belonged to Bagwell. Furthermore, a firearms expert testified that the bullet fragments removed from Libby Best's cranium matched the shattered rifle the law enforcement officers recovered.

Girlfriend Helps Prosecution: At trial, the state offered several witnesses, including Victoria Wolford, Bagwell's girlfriend, who testified that she was with Bagwell when he committed the gruesome murders, and she had led police to various locations along the getaway route where Bagwell had discarded incriminating evidence. Law enforcement officers and scientific experts linked significant physical evidence from the murders to Bagwell.

Bagwell's Criminal History Bagwell was on parole after serving eight years of an 18 year sentence in prison for an attempted capital murder in 1982. In 1997, just two weeks before the murder of his mother and three others, he kicked George Barry, a 63-year-old janitor, to death. He was convicted for the murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Texas Law: Under Texas law, murdering more than one person during the same criminal transaction is a capital offense.

Dennis Wayne Bagwell, 41, was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2005, in Huntsville, Texas.

Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice