Texas Death Row Inmate Executed for 2009 Murders of Wife and Stepdaughter in Dallas

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (TCD) — A Texas man on death row was executed by lethal injection Tuesday evening for the 2009 murders of his estranged wife and her young daughter in Dallas.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 51-year-old Gary Green was convicted of killing 32-year-old Lovetta Armstead and her 6-year-old daughter, Jazzmen Montgomery, inside their home. Green fatally stabbed Armstead and drowned the child following a dispute over Armstead’s decision to annul their marriage.

During his final statement, as reported by the Associated Press, Green apologized to the victims’ family, saying, "I apologize for all the harm I have caused you and your family. We ate together, we laughed and cried together as a family. I’m sorry I failed you."

Green's legal team had previously appealed his sentence, citing claims of intellectual disability. However, both the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn the decision, allowing the execution to proceed.

On September 21, 2009, Green picked up Armstead’s sons from church. Upon returning home, he stabbed the 9-year-old son, who survived, and then showed the two boys the bodies of their mother and sister before letting them go. The boys ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911.

Green turned himself in to Dallas Police early the next morning.

He was pronounced dead at 7:07 p.m., 33 minutes after receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital at the Huntsville Unit.