Texas Executes Inmate For Killing San Antonio Woman In 1992 Insurance Scheme

HUNTSVILLE, TX — Texas on Tuesday executed a paid hit man who gunned down a San Antonio woman nearly a quarter-century ago in a life insurance scheme.

Rolando Ruiz, 44, was given a lethal injection for the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Theresa Rodriguez. The woman was gunned down outside her home in 1992 as she was exiting a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated the murder, as CBS News reported.

Two of the victim's sisters were in the death chamber gallery to witness the execution. Ruiz reportedly looked directly at them through a pane of glass before the lethal drugs entered his body and apologized to them for the crime.

“Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt I have caused you and your family,” media outlets reported him as having told the women. “May this bring you peace and forgiveness.”

The condemned man also thanked family members for their moral support and love.

Ruiz was paid $2,000 for the killing, media outlets widely reported. Right before the injection was inserted into his veins, Ruiz said: "I am at peace. Jesus Christ is Lord. I love you all.”

Shortly after, the lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, prompting Ruiz to take several deep breaths, CBS News reported. He then began to quietly snore before all body movement ceased within roughly 30 seconds. He was pronounced dead at 11:06 p.m.

The execution was the third one in Texas this year and the fifth nationwide. Texas has the distinction of carrying out more executions, by far, than all other states.

The victim's mother, Susie Sanchez, told reporters: "It’s not going to bring her back, so it really doesn’t mean very much.” The two sisters, meanwhile, declined to comment after the execution.

There was delay of nearly five hours before the capital punishment was ultimately approved to take place while the U.S. Supreme Court considered a plea for a stay of execution. The high court eventually rejected three appeals attorneys who had filed to halt the execution, basing arguments on past legal help they deemed deficient and another argument contending cruel and unusual punishment given the long time Ruiz has been on death row — since 1995.

The one dissenting Supreme Court judge, Justice Stephen Breyer, was the sole dissenter on the court, saying he would have stopped the execution to further study the question of Ruiz's prolonged confinment on death row, CBS News and other media outlets reported.

On July 14, 1992, Ruiz approached the car his victim was in, asking for directions as a ruse. CBS News noted Ruiz already had been paid half of the amount for the killing, and was there to complete the job after two previous failed attempts.

Ruiz put a .357 to the victim's head and fired as she was getting out of the car, enabling him to collect the other half of the payment for the killing.

Evidence at a subsequent trial found that Michael Rodriguez, the victim's husband, stood to gain a quarter-million dollars in insurance benefits for his wife's death having recently purchased additional coverage that would have netted him another $150,000, CBS News reported.

The killing rocked San Antonio, particularly among the victim's workplace at USAA — a firm offering insurance products to military families that is one of San Antonio's largest and most recognized employers. The company distinguishes itself with a corporate culture that promotes worker unity through philanthropic and charitable efforts among its employees throughout the city.

The financial services giant offered up a $50,000 reward for information on the woman's death, and a police investigation into the murder was said to have been aided by a tip that came by virtue of the company's efforts.

The brothers orchestrating the murder eventually accepted life terms as part of separate plea deals, CBS News reported. Mark Rodriguez, the victim's brother-in-law, was paroled in 2011. But Michael Rodriguez would later meet a similar fate as the hit man he hired as part of the notorious "Texas 7," a group of inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in 2000 and killed a Dallas-area police officer during his flight — an act that earned him an execution in 2008.

Two other men involved in the plot, Joe Ramon, who accompanied Ruiz the night of the killing, and Robert Silva, the middle man who got the Rodriguez brothers in touch with Ruiz, also received life sentences in prison.

>>> Read the full story at CBS News

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