Tuesday, October 03, 2006

TEXAS LAST MEAL
JUSTIN CHAZ FULLER
August 24, 2006

...Fuller told police that he was urinating in the lake at the time of the shooting...Also, The case inspired the passage of a state law making it a crime to know about a body and remain silent about it.

Last Meal: Fuller had no final meal request.

The skinny: Fuller, 27, was executed for the abduction, robbery and fatal shooting of a Tyler man nine years ago.

More skinny: Fuller and the victim lived in the same apartment complex. Prosecutors said the robbery plot was hatched by the victim's girlfriend, who believed that he had received $15,000 from a trust fund when he turned 21.

Fuller and three friends went to the man's apartment to rob him. Fuller and his accomplices sprayed tear gas, then bound and blindfolded the college student and searched his apartment valuables. While one of the men removed property from the apartment, Fuller and the two other men then forced the victim into his vehicle and drove to an automatic teller machine where Fuller withdrew money from his account. The money was distributed between the three captors - eighty dollars apiece.

Fuller and his two accomplices then drove the man to a local park, forced him to his knees, and Fuller shot him three times with a .22 handgun while he was praying. The next day, Fuller took two friends from school to view the body and told them about the robbery and murder. Smith County deputies found the body four days after the murder.

Once in custody, Fuller gave a videotaped statement, confessing to the details of the offense, but denied being the triggerman. Fuller told police that he was urinating in the lake at the time of the shooting. Accomplices Samhermundre Wideman of Tyler and Elaine Hays of Red Springs receiced life sentences. Brent Bates Chandler accepted a 25-year sentence and testified against Fuller.

Love those high school students...Authorities said by then numerous people had gone to see the body, which became the subject of conversation at Chapel Hill High School near Tyler. A student at the school, which the victim, Fuller and two other people convicted in the slaying had attended, overheard some of the talk and called police. The case inspired the passage of a state law making it a crime to know about a body and remain silent about it.

Leading up to: Fuller said in a recent interview that he couldn't express regrets about the killing. "If I have regrets, it means I done it."

Last words and such: "I would like to tell my family thank you for your support and my friends. Let everyone know that you must stay strong for each other. Take care of yourselves." He then told the warden standing next to him, "That's it." As the lethal drugs began to take effect, he looked at his parents watching through a window a few feet away and said, "I love you." He did not acknowledge the victim's family.

Factoids: Fuller was the...

38th murderer executed in U.S. in 2006
1042nd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
19th murderer executed in Texas in 2006
374th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

At least seven Texas condemned prisoners have death dates through the end of the year. If all scheduled executions are carried out, the state will execute 27 people by the end of the year.