A Texas death row inmate was executed Wednesday night for the 2001 murder of an 18-year-old woman he kidnapped and raped.
Ramiro Gonzalez, 41, received the lethal injection at the State Penitentiary in Huntsville and was declared dead at 6:50 p.m. local time Wednesday, his victim’s birthday.
Bridget Townsend was killed in January 2001 when Gonzalez broke into her boyfriend’s Bandera County home to steal drugs and found her alone.
The then 18-year-old kidnapped the woman and drove her to his grandfather’s Medina County ranch where he proceeded to rape and kill her.
He dumped the body in a nearby field. The remains would not be found until late 2002 when Gonzalez led cops to the macabre scene.
“I can’t put into words the pain I have caused y’all, the hurt, what I took away that I cannot give back. I hope this apology is enough,” Gonzalez told Townsend’s family moments before he died.
“I never stopped praying that you would forgive me and that one day I would have this opportunity to apologize.”
“I owe all of you my life and I hope one day you will forgive me.”
