Man executed for killing his 3 kids in house fire
A 36-year-old man who killed his two stepchildren and his baby daughter by setting fire to their house was put to death by lethal injection in Texas in the United States on Wednesday (Nov 18).
The bodies of the three girls – Tierra Lynch, 7, Jasmine DuPaul, 5, and Justice Holiday, 1 – were found huddled together in the charred remains of the home in September 2000.
Raphael Holiday had lived with his common-law wife Tami Wilkerson until she secured a restraining order against him in March 2000 for sexually assaulting Tierra.
His attempts to reconcile with Ms Wilkerson were unsuccessful and in September that year, he ignored the injunction and broke into her mobile home.
Terrified, Ms Wilkerson fled to seek help.
Holiday forced the girls’ grandmother at gunpoint to douse the home with gasoline, which was then ignited in flames.
The grandmother survived, but the three girls died.
After watching the blaze, Holiday fled the scene in a vehicle and was caught after a high-speed chase with police.
The Supreme Court in June denied a request from Holiday’s lawyers to put a hold on the execution. He was put to death on Wednesday.
Sources: AFP, Reuters, The Guardian
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