"He has matured remarkably," said Robin Norris, his appeals lawyer. The graves of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena are about 200 yards apart in Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery. Two of Cantu's companions in the gang they dubbed the Black and White preceded him to the death chamber. [7] Prez will become eligible for parole on October 10, 2029, while Villarreal will become eligible for parole on September 20, 2029.[27][28]. Cantu, Jos Medelln, and Prez then strangled Pea to death with shoelaces. She then attempted to flee. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Resend Activation Email. Cantu is the last of three men scheduled to die by lethal injection for the June 1993 murders of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena (AP). Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. The murder of the two girls made headlines in Texas newspapers due to the nature of the crime and the new law resulting from the murder that allows families of the victims to view the execution of the murderers. The architect of their deaths will pay with his own life Tuesday evening. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. << One member, Jos Medelln, attempted to grope and pinch one of Pea's breasts. Medellin has been denied parole five times now. Failed to remove flower. 88 0 obj There is a problem with your email/password. In response, Medelln stated: "No, baby! Two who In June of 1993, the two girls stumbled across a gang initiation on White Oak Bayou. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. [5] Following Cantu's initial instruction, Villarreal first shouted, "Get on your knees, bitch!" 0000007142 00000 n For justice for my little girl," Elizabeth's father, Adolph Pena, said. HOUSTON - State officials have denied parole for Venancio Medellin, the youngest of six gang members convicted of the vicious rapes and murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena in 1993. O'Brien (the only non-Hispanic, Black person in the gang) and Villarreal strangled Ertman with O'Brien's red nylon belt before breaking the belt. /Type /Catalog The parents of the murder victims successfully advocated for the State of Texas allowing relatives of victims to have permission to witness executions. The gang members stomped on both girls' throats to ensure their deaths. The lethal injection was performed at 6:09 p.m. By 6:17 p.m. Cantu was pronounced dead. She was thrown to the ground by gang members Peter Cantu and Derrick Sean O'Brien. No one came to witness on Cantu's behalf when he received his lethal injection. At sentencing, the offenders were remanded to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. The case forced a change in state police. Cantu's brother, Joe, testified about what inspired him to call police. his arms, also apologized. As a general rule, immediate family members, grandparents, and other close family members can request and will be transferred management of the memorial. All those believed responsible were ultimately arrested. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Verify and try again. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. The gang of attackers had showed up at his house after the killings. Prior to his execution, O'Brien expressed his regrets for his actions to the families of Pea and Ertman. "Jenny and Elizabeth were everybody's daughters," said Kahan. This browser does not support getting your location. This is a carousel with slides. cemeteries found in Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. New development was everywhere, spurred by a mayor and city council devoted to the cause of building. [33], Medelln's impending execution became an international controversy since the state did not hold a hearing about whether the inability of Medelln to meet with Mexican consular officials harmed his defense. [7] Before the murders, Houston officials had stated that gangs were not a significant issue in the city. /T 62444 C.E. Both repeatedly struggled against their abusers, with Pea on at least one occasion attempting to fight off her attackers by repeatedly kicking her legs, and Ertman biting her attackers. startxref In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered hearings to be held. "Why do I watch? An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. "He's a guy who fully accepts his responsibility.". Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. English All Rights Reserved. . Cantu's mother, sometimes absent, appeared unconcerned when school officials or authorities showed up to discuss his behavior. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (CBS/KHOU) Murderer Peter Anthony Cantu was executed by the state of Texas Tuesday evening. pauline hanson dancing with the stars; just jerk dance members; what happens if a teacher gets a dui << Both victims were badly decaying, and dental records were used for identification. Instead of remorse there was violence from Cantu. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Cantu was a good worker who was courteous with customers, the boss said, stunned that the "yes, sir" guy he knew changed so dramatically when the workday ended. Please reset your password. Jester Park in order to make an 11:30 curfew. Three others have long prison terms. He then apologized to his own family before he was executed by lethal injection. Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. [7], Villarreal had not been a member of the Black and White gang or any gang but had engaged in this initiation ceremony whereby he had been forced to fight several gang members for five minutes successively before they judged whether to accept him. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. /H [ 931 256 ] It will not erase from memory the faces in the photographs, or the knowledge of what happened to them. Instead they are forever 14 and 16, a pair of innocents who slipped into the darkness of Houston's near north side one summer night and re-emerged in bright sunlight on a funeral home gurney targets of a crime so incomprehensible that it was, in the words of one of the lawyers later involved, burned into the collective consciousness of the city. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Medelln reported that he had killed a girl and noted that he would have found it easier with a gun. Because of their deaths, the state allows victim impact statements and Randy Ertman was the first to do it when he confronted the six convicted killers in court, all of them sentenced to death. In: Mangino, Matthew T. This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 03:48. 0000005484 00000 n Please enter your email and password to sign in. were 17 when the girls were killed were spared the death penalty when Ertman could have easily run to escape at this point, but ran to help her friend. If it could show up at such a nondescript moment - teenagers unknown to each other passing in the night - perhaps no one's safety was more than an illusion. "We're looking forward to Peter Cantu being executed so he can never murder or hurt anybody again," he said. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Jennifer Lee Ertman I found on Findagrave.com. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Jester Park. 0000000809 00000 n You're not even an animal. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. The architect of their deaths will pay with his own life Tuesday evening. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- T.C. ", Death near for Ertman-Pea killer, but crime still shakes Houston. Medellin was among six gang members who were sentenced. Sorry! He was the ringleader in a crime that struck a raw nerve for its sheer brutality: the repeated gang rape, torture and murder of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena in 1993. Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman were friends who went to Waltrip High School in Houston. The girls were raped and murdered by the gang members in a field near T.C. The rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena rocks Houston. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. The families of both Ertman and Pea strongly favored the execution(s). cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 0 Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the story of the killings of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, was released in 2008 and became a best seller.Notice: This memorial is being managed in abeyance until a proper manager requests control of the memorial. [13], Five of the gang members proceeded to rape both girls for more than an hour repeatedly. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Their photos are familiar now, attached to countless news reports since then: the same two pictures, teen girls who despite the makeup were girls still. O'Brien was videotaped smiling at the scene of the crime. trailer Four days later, when searchers finally found Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena, their bodies were unrecognizable. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. It was Cantu who asserted Ertman and Pea had to be killed so as not to later bear witness against them. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. FROM 2018: How brutal killings of 2 Houston teens changed Texas justice. Evidence showed Cantu kicked one of the girls in the face with his steel-toed boot. During the trial, the Ertmans asked to address the court. They were kicked, teeth knocked out and hair pulled out and ribs broken. Ertman, however, doesn't agree with that viewpoint. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. [40], Cantu, Medelln, and O'Brien are buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Venancio received a 40-year prison sentence. Even the police were stunned. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Family members are now allowed to address the convicted, and victims' families now have the choice and right to view the execution of their perpetrators. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Raul Villareal and Efrain Perez were also sentenced to death but saw their punishment commuted to a life sentence because they were both 17 when the crime was committed. He will be the third of the attackers to be put to death, following, Houston is in for dust and gray skies as Texas haboob arrives, Oops! LQ>icb7#f0wNb7tM:q2$`zg A'QS5Cf\ =!4S&1qu+NZbu{Na!P. To use this feature, use a newer browser. On June 24, 1993, Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea attended a pool party hosted by their friend, Gina Escamilla. Jos Ernesto Medelln appealed his execution, saying that he had informed City of Houston and Harris County police officers that he was a Mexican citizen, and that he had been unable to confer with Mexican consular officials. In what police later would describe as a sadistic frenzy, the girls were gang-raped for more than an hour. Jos Medelln was executed at 9:57 pm on August 5, 2008, after his last-minute appeals were rejected by the Supreme Court. 0000006863 00000 n There is a problem with your email/password. By approximately 10:30 p.m., Villarreal had successfully fought two gang members before being beaten midway through his fight with the third member. Derrick O'Brien was the first to be executed, on July 11, 2006. She was then forced to remove her underwear. /Filter /FlateDecode He petitioned the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1998 regarding this issue; the appeal failed. When the pair realized that they were going to be late returning home, they decided to leave the party to commit the curfew both had promised to their parents. Family and friends gathered at the park this weekend to pay tribute to a pair of lives lost and the impact they had on criminal justice policy. A system error has occurred. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. 76 0 R /F10 78 0 R /F11 80 0 R /F12 82 0 R /F13 84 0 R /F14 86 0 R >> >> She'd been raped and eviscerated. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? He made a promise to their families. [1], Although the girls were just over one year in age difference, both sets of parents approved of their friendship, with Pea's father viewing Ertmana modest girl who had only recently begun experimenting with makeupas a "positive influence" on his daughter, later recollecting that, shortly after the two became friends at Waltrip High School, Pea "just straightened up her act" following a brief streak of teenage rebellion in his daughter before her 1992 enrollment at the school. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Elizabeth Christine Pea I found on Findagrave.com. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. The State of Texas, represented by Solicitor General Ted Cruz, challenged Bush's order, and the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that only the Congress of the United States has the right to order hearings to be held. Elizabeth Pea (left) and Jennifer Ertman (right), Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea. 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