Elroy Chester
Born(1969-06-14)June 14, 1969
Jefferson County, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 12, 2013(2013-06-12) (aged 43)
Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Capital murder
Criminal penaltyDeath (September 26, 1998)
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
1997–1998
CountryUnited States
State(s)Texas

Elroy Chester (June 14, 1969 – June 12, 2013) was an American serial killer who committed five murders in Texas. He was convicted and sentenced to death for one of the murders, and was executed in 2013.

Crimes

Between 1997 and 1998, a series of burglaries and fatal shootings occurred in Port Arthur, Texas. In every case but one, the victims died in their homes during the night. The five people which Chester admitted to killing[1] were:

  • John Henry Sepeda (78) on Sept. 20. 1997
  • Etta Mae Stallings (87) on Nov. 15. 1997
  • Cheryl DeLeon (40) on Nov. 20. 1997, she was fatally beaten as she arrived home from work
  • Albert Bolden Jr. (35) on Dec. 21. 1997, who was his common-law brother-in-law
  • Willie Ryman III (38), on Feb. 6. 1998, a firefighter who tried to defend his nieces from Chester, after he sexually molested them[2]

Later his DNA was linked to three rapes, including that of a ten-year-old girl. He also confessed to four non-fatal shootings.[3] After his arrest, he said that he had committed these offenses because he was out of his mind "with hate for white people" due to lingering resentment over an altercation that he had once gotten into with a white employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[4]

Trial

During his trial, Chester made multiple outbursts, threatened the lives of police officers, prison guards, and the families of jurors, and at one point declared, "If I hadn't shot my brother-in-law, I'd still be out there shooting white folks."[5]

He was convicted of the murder of Willie Ryman III and the assault of the two nieces. It took the jury only 11 and a half minutes to agree on a death sentence for Chester after he told them he would kill a guard if he was not sentenced to death.[3]

The Texas court system ruled that Chester was legally competent to be executed,[6] despite scoring below 70 on IQ tests[7] and being previously placed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Mentally Retarded Offenders Program.[8] In the prosecution's closing arguments, it was argued that his disability was not a sufficient reason to stay his execution.[8]

Since Chester was capable of hiding facts and lying to protect his own interests, using masks and gloves, and cutting exterior telephone lines before entering homes to burglarize, he showed persuasively that he was capable of forethought, planning, and complex execution of purpose. Therefore, the court found the evidence insufficient to support the claim that Chester was mentally retarded.[2]

In October 2012, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Chester.[9]

Execution

Chester was originally scheduled for execution on April 24, 2013, but, due to an error in the execution warrant, the date was pushed back.[6]

He was executed on June 12, 2013, at the Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, two days before his 44th birthday.[10]

He is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.

In media

In 2013 a full-length documentary titled Killing Time was made about him and his execution.[11]

In 2018 the case was covered by Investigation Discovery show Murder by Numbers, episode named Clown Mask Murders.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Elroy Chester, Texas man who confessed to 5 killings, executed by lethal injection". CBS News. June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Porter, Breck (2008). "Condemned Port Arthur Killer Waits for Execution Date". thepolicenews.net. Archive.is. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Elroy Chester #1334". www.clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  4. ↑ "Elroy Chester executed for killing Port Arthur fireman". 12newsnow.com. Internet Archive. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Appeals court upholds death sentence for Port Arthur killer". chron.com. Houston Chronicle. December 30, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Smith, Jordan (June 7, 2013). "Death Watch: Chester to die June 12". austinchronicle.com. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ Dilts, Elizabeth (May 13, 2013). "Lawyers worry new measure of mental retardation could prompt more executions". newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com. WebCite. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Jordan (April 19, 2013). "Smart Enough to Die: In 2002, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. Still, Texas finds a way". austinchronicle.com. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Elroy Chester, Texas Death Row Inmate, Gets Case Turned Away By Supreme Court". huffingtonpost.com. Internet Archive. October 29, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ Graczyk, Michael. "PA man gives last words before execution". Associated Press. Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  11. ↑ www.oberon.nl, Oberon Amsterdam, Killing Time (2013) - Jaap van Hoewijk | IDFA, retrieved 2022-04-23
  12. ↑ "Watch Murder By Numbers Season 2 | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
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