Murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña

This article is about the murder victim. For the actress, see Elizabeth Peña.
Elizabeth Peña (left) and Jennifer Ertman (right)

The murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, occurred on June 24, 1993. 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 2008 execution of one of the perpetrators, José Medellín, caused international controversy after it was revealed that Medellín was never allowed to meet with Mexican consular officials after his arrest.

Murder

On June 24, 1993, Jennifer Lee Ertman (August 15, 1978 - June 24, 1993) and Elizabeth Christine Peña (June 21, 1977 - June 24, 1993), Waltrip High School students, were attending a pool party of a friend who lived in the Spring Hill Apartments. The pair realized that they were going to be late returning home and decided to leave the party. In order to meet an 11 p.m. curfew, Ertman and Peña decided to take a 10 minute shortcut to Peña's residence in Oak Forest by following the railroad tracks and then passing through T.C. Jester Park.[1] The girls walked along the White Oak Bayou when they encountered gang members drinking beer after holding a gang initiation.[2] The gang members captured Peña, and Ertman was captured after she ran to her friend as she screamed. Six gang members raped the girls repeatedly. After realizing the girls would identify them, Peter Cantu, a gang leader, ordered the members to kill the girls, so the members strangled them to death.[1] Derrick Sean O'Brien and Raul Villarreal strangled Ertman with a red nylon belt before the belt broke; then the gang members used shoelaces.[1][2] Cantu, José Medellín, and Efrain Perez strangled Peña with shoelaces. The members then stomped on the girls' throats to ensure their deaths.[1]

Cantu, Medellín, Perez, and Villareal then congregated at Cantu's residence, where he lived with his brother, Joe Cantu, and sister-in-law, Christina Cantu. Christina Cantu questioned why Villareal was bleeding and Perez had a bloody shirt. This prompted Medellín to say the gang "had fun," and that details would appear on the news. He then elaborated that he had raped both girls.[3]

Peter Cantu then returned, and divided valuables that had been stolen from the girls. Medellín got a ring with an "E", so he could give it to his girlfriend, Esther. Medellín reported that he had killed a girl, and noted that he would have found it easier with a gun. Derrick Sean O'Brien was videotaped smiling at the scene of the crime. After the gang left, Christina Cantu convinced Joe Cantu to report the crime to police.[4]

Four days after the crime, the bodies were found in the park during hot weather conditions. They were badly decaying, and dental records were used for identification. The medical examiner corroborated that the cause of death was strangulation. All those believed responsible were ultimately arrested. Medellín gave both a written and taped confession.[5][6]

Sentencing, incarceration, and execution

Ellis Unit, where the death row perpetrators were initially confined

The offenders were sentenced into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. Peter Cantu, José Medellín, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Efrain Perez, and Raul Villareal received death sentences. Venancio Medellín, the brother of José Medellín, was 14 at the time of the murder. Venancio received a 40 year prison sentence. When the Supreme Court of the United States banned the executions of people who committed crimes while they were below 18 years of age, the sentences of Perez and Villareal were commuted to life in prison.[2]

O'Brien, who was the only black member of the gang, was the first of the three convicted killers to be executed, in July 2006.[1]

Medellín 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. The prosecutors said that Medellín never told authorities that he was a Mexican citizen. Medellín said in a sworn statement that he learned that the Mexican consulate could assist him in 1997. He petitioned the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1998 regarding this issue; the appeal failed.

The perpetrators who were under death sentences were later moved to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit

Medellín's impending execution became an international controversy, since the state did not hold a hearing about whether the inability for Medellín to meet with Mexican consular officials harmed his defense. The right of a defendant to talk with his or her consulate is specified in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; the United States is a party to the convention. In 2004 the International Court of Justice responded to a lawsuit filed by Mexico against the United States; the court ordered hearings to be held for inmates, including Medellín, who were denied consular rights.

In 2005 President of the United States George W. Bush ordered hearings to be held. The State of Texas 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. In July the World Court ordered a stay of Medellín's execution. Governor of Texas Rick Perry argued that Texas is not bound to World Court rulings. Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. Randy Ertman (1952-2014), the father of Jennifer Ertman, favored the execution.[1]

Huntsville Unit, the site of executions in the State of Texas

Randy Ertman wanted to have Andy Kahan, the City of Houston's crime advocate, witness the execution of Medellín. TDCJ refused to allow Kahan to witness the execution.[7] Michelle Lyons, a TCDJ official, said that Tropical Storm Edouard would likely not be a factor preventing the execution of Medellín.[8]

Medellín was executed at 9:57 p.m. on August 5, 2008, after his last-minute appeals were rejected by the Supreme Court.[9] Governor Rick Perry rejected calls from Mexico and Washington, D.C. to delay the execution, citing the torture, rape and strangulation of two teenage girls in Houston 15 years ago as just cause for the death penalty.[10]

Peter Cantu was executed seventeen years after the crimes on August 17, 2010. The lethal injection was performed at 6:09 p.m. and at 6:17 p.m. Cantu was pronounced dead.

Randy Ertman has advocated against granting parole to Venancio Medellin.[11]

Memorials to Ertman and Peña in TC Jester Park. In the background is the railroad bridge where the two were initially attacked.

Aftermath

The parents of the murder victims successfully advocated for the State of Texas allowing relatives of victims to have permission to witness executions.[2] Before the murder happened, City of Houston officials had stated that gangs were not a significant issue in the city. C. E. Anderson, a Houston Police Department officer who worked on the murder case, described the murder as "part of the impetus for the anti-gang programs in Houston." Jennifer Latson of the Houston Chronicle said that the deaths of the girls "shook" the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston "to its foundation."[12]

Waltrip High School contains a memorial to the girls.[13] Another memorial exists at T.C. Jester Park.[12]

One of the perpetrators, Derrick O'Brien, was buried in the Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery in Huntsville after his execution.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Turner, Allan. "Medellin set to die Tuesday for Ertman-Peña killings." Houston Chronicle. August 4, 2008. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Graczyk, Michael. "Convicted killer of teenage Houston girls set to die." at the Wayback Machine (archived September 29, 2007) Associated Press at MySanAntonio.com. July 10, 2006. Retrieved on June 26, 2009.
  3. ↑ Allan Turner, Rosanna Ruiz (August 6, 2008). "Medellin executed for rape, murder of Houston teens". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  4. ↑ http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/medellin1116.htm
  5. ↑ Underwood, Melissa (October 10, 2007). "Father of Murdered Girl Questions Bush's Support to Halt Killer's Execution". FOX News. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  6. ↑ "Media Advisory: Jose Medellin Scheduled For Execution". Attorney General of Texas. July 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  7. ↑ Vogel, Chris. "Victim's Advocate Won't be Witnessing Execution." Houston Press. Wednesday July 30, 2008. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Can Edouard Save Jose Medellin?" Houston Press. Tuesday August 5, 2008. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.
  9. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States (2008-08-05). "Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Texas (Per Curiam)" (PDF). SCOTUSblog. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  10. ↑ McKinley, James C., Jr. (2008-08-06). "Texas Executes Mexican Despite Objections". New York Times.
  11. ↑ Watkins, Andrea and Damali Keith. "Dad confronts parole board to keep daughter's murderer in prison" (Archive). KRIV-TV. September 5, 2012. March 16, 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Latson, Jennifer. "Somber tribute held to the teen victims." Houston Chronicle. August 6, 2008. Retrieved on March 7, 2010.
  13. ↑ "In Memory of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman - 1993." Waltrip High School. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.
  14. ↑ Ross, Robyn. "Laid to Rest in Huntsville" (Archive) Texas Observer. Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Retrieved on March 16, 2014.

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