Texas executes David Santiago Renteria for the kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old girl

• Texas executes David Renteria by lethal injection.
• He was convicted of murdering Alexandra Flores.
• She was only five years old.

The state of Texas executed David Santiago Rentería, a man convicted for the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl.

According to reports, the terrible incident occurred in an El Paso, Texas Walmart in 2001.

Little Alexandra Flores, was only five years old and was the youngest of eight children.

This execution became the second of the day in the United States, occurring minutes after another in Alabama.

Texas executes David Renteria by lethal injection

It is unusual to have two death sentence carried out on the same day. The last time this happened was on November 16, 2022.

David Santiago Renteria, 53, was pronounced dead at 7:11 p.m.

The defendant received a lethal injection at the Huntsville prison, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The EFE news agency shared the last words that Rentería uttered just before he was executed.

David Santiago Renteria’s last words

«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,» David Santiago Renteria said.

He was pronounced dead 11 minutes after he began receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a powerful sedative.

The tragic incident occurred on November 18, 2001, when Renteria kidnapped 5-year-old Alexandra Flores from a Walmart in El Paso.

She was taken while the family was doing Christmas shopping, The Associated Press reported.

The devastating murder of Alexandra Flores

Security cameras recorded David Santiago Renteria taking the girl, whose naked and burned body was found the next morning.

Her remains were found in an alley that was about 15 miles from the scene of the kidnapping. Her autopsy revealed that Flores was strangled.

Two years later, Renteria was sentenced to death by a jury for this heinous crime, The Associated Press stated.

His defense alleged that he had kidnapped the girl because he was being threatened by the Barrio Azteca gang.

Evidence incriminated him in Alexandra Flores’ murder

However, prosecutors argued that Renteria’s defense was unfounded, arguing that the evidence directly incriminated him in the murder.

According to EFE, that evidence included his fingerprints found on a bag that was found over her head.

Renteria’s execution went ahead after the Supreme Court hours earlier denied two separate appeals for a stay.

His defense tried to have his sentence reduced.

David Renteria’s lawyers tried twice to appeal his sentence

In one of the appeals, Rentería’s lawyers said they weren’t given access to certain evidence, The Associated Press reported.

According to them, this evidence could show that their client was not responsible for Alexandra Flores’ horrific murder.

The other appeal focused on allegations that the pentobarbital had degraded and could cause “severe pain” to Renteria.

The lawyers argued that this would be a violation of the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Execution statistics in the US

The appeals were both rejected by the highest court without comment.

This execution adds to the long list of death penalty cases in Texas, marking the eighth execution of the year in this state.

Texas executes David Renteria, making him the 23rd this year in the United States.

According to EFE, 1581 people have been put to death in the U.S. since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, with 586 executions in Texas alone.