Man executed for San Antonio ‘lover’s lane’ killing
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A condemned Texas inmate who insisted he wasn’t involved in a San Antonio “lovers’ lane” killing more than 14 years ago was executed Wednesday evening for the slaying.
Juan Edward Castillo, 36, received a lethal injection for the fatal shooting and robbery of a 19-year-old man that testimony showed was carried out by Castillo and several friends on a secluded road where the victim was enticed by the promise of drugs and sex.
Castillo became be the 11th convicted killer executed this year in the U.S. and the sixth in Texas.
He gave a brief final statement before receiving the lethal dose of pentobarbital, thanking “everyone.”
“You know who you are. I love you all,” Castillo said. “That’s it.” As the powerful sedative took effect, he lifted his head off the gurney and used an expletive to say he could taste the drug and that it burned. He took several quick breaths that became snores and then stopped all movement.
Castillo was pronounced dead 23 minutes later at 6:44 p.m. CDT.
The victim’s mother and stepmother were among the people watching through a window. After a doctor pronounced Castillo dead, one of the other relatives exclaimed: “We’ve got justice. Thank you.”
Castillo lost appeals earlier this week at the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court. No last-day appeals were filed in the courts to try to block his punishment and Gov. Greg Abbott declined a request from his lawyers for a 30-day reprieve.
Castillo was 22 and already had been in prison on a two-year sentence for deadly conduct with a firearm when he was arrested for Garcia’s killing.