Robert Madrid Salazar Jr.

Robert Madrid Salazar Jr., a 27-year-old Hispanic male, was executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas on March 22, 2006. Salazar was found guilty of the 1997 murder of Adriana Gomez, a 2-year-old Hispanic female. Salazar, who was 18-years old when he committed the capital crime, was sentenced to death on March 12, 1999.

Salazar began dating a Lubbock, Texas woman named Raylene Blakeburn in the fall of 1996. On April 23, 1997, Blakeburn went to work in the morning leaving her daughter Adriana Gomez in Salazar's care as she often did. When Blakeburn came home from work at around 5:00 p.m. Salazar was not there. Blakeburn discovered Adriana in her bed, unconscious, breathing abnormally, and with blood in her mouth. With the assistance of a neighbor, Blakeburn called for an ambulance.

When the paramedics arrived they found Blakeburn standing outside of her house holding Adriana in a blanket. The paramedics, unable to bring Adriana back to consciousness, placed her on a ventilator. As they did one paramedic noticed that the back of Adriana's head had been caved in and that it felt like "Jello." The paramedics also observed that one of Adriana's arms was twisted and deformed and that she had marks and bruises covering her neck, ankles, and chest. Suspecting child abuse the paramedics contacted police. Adriana died at roughly 7:45 p.m.

Roger Torres, one of Salazar's friends, testified that at around 4:00 p.m. that day he was walking home when Salazar drove up to him and asked if he could take a look at Salazar's fan belt. According to Torres, Adriana was not with Salazar at the time. Shortly thereafter Torres examined the fan belt, and just after 5:00 p.m. the two men drove to a nearby store and purchased some beer. At around this time Torres noticed that Salazar's shirt had on it a number of small stains, which appeared to be blood. When the two men returned from the store they saw the ambulance outside of Blakeburn's residence. They did not stop and instead drove by and continued on to Salazar's mother's house.

Once at his mother's house Salazar changed his shirt and the two men drank some beer. At this time Blakeburn called Salazar at his mother's house and told him that Adriana was injured. Salazar told Blakeburn not to tell police that he had been watching Adriana that day. He also told Torres to be quiet and that the matter was none of his business.

Salazar later gave a written statement to police in which he admitted that he had been watching Adriana while her mother was at work on the day in question. He stated that he and Adriana were taking a shower together and that he became angry because she would not stop crying, adding that Adriana generally did not like to take a shower with him when her mother was not there. Salazar also stated that in order to stop her crying he pushed her with the back of his hand causing her to fall down in the bathtub and hit her head. Salazar stated that he became scared because Adriana was unconscious and bleeding, so he abandoned the child and left the scene. A subsequent lab analysis of a bloodstain on Salazar’s pants revealed that the stain was consistent with Adriana's DNA.

The pathologist who performed the autopsy testified that Adriana's death was caused by trauma from multiple blunt force injuries, and he ruled the manner of death a homicide. The pathologist stated that the injuries sustained by Adriana were inconsistent with Salazar's contention that she had fallen down and hit her head in the tub. Adriana's injuries indicated the infliction of repeated blows of severe force to her head, chest, and abdomen.

The autopsy revealed that the child had suffered at least three life-threatening injuries all of which had been inflicted within 48-hours of her death. A blow to her head resulted in a posterior basal skull fracture consistent with her skull having been slammed into a hard surface. The location of several other smaller skull fractures was consistent with her being struck multiple times, and the injuries to her eyes were consistent with being shaken or struck so hard that she would have been blind had she survived. A major blow to the chest bruised Adriana's lungs, diaphragm, and heart.

The pathologist testified that the injuries to the child's chest surpassed anything he had seen previously in cases of automobile accidents. More than one of Adriana's ribs had been broken and her heart was so severely damaged that it would have ruptured had she lived much longer. The blow to her stomach had pushed her abdomen against her backbone crushing the tissues in between. The injuries to her tongue and mouth were indicative of a blow to her face and the injury to her vagina was consistent with sexual penetration. The State also showed that in January 1997 Adriana suffered either a broken collarbone or a dislocated shoulder. When asked about the injury by a neighbor, Adriana replied that Salazar had done it.

On April 30, 1997, a Lubbock County grand jury indicted Salazar for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of a two-year-old child. On March 9, 1999, a jury found Salazar guilty of capital murder and three days later he was sentenced to death. On January 17, 2001, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction and sentence.

Salazar’s last meal: a dozen tamales, six brownies, refried beans with chorizo, two rollo candies, six hard shell tacos with lettuce, three big red sodas, ketchup, hot sauce, six jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, cheese, and extra ground beef; and last words: "To everybody on both sides of that wall, I want you to know that I love you both. I am sorry that the child had to lose her life, but I should not have to be here. Tell my family I love them all and I will see them in heaven".

References

* Michelangelo Delfino and Mary E. Day, "Death Penalty USA 2005 -2006", (2008), 238-241.
* "Salazar v. Dretke" (2005) 419 F.3d 384.
* "Salazar v. State" (2001) 38 S.W.3d 141.

See also

* Capital punishment in Texas
* Capital punishment in the United States