Vaughn Ross
Vaughn Ross | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 4, 1971 |
| Died | July 18, 2013 (aged 41) Huntsville Unit, Texas, U.S. |
Criminal status | Executed by lethal injection |
| Convictions | Missouri Assault Auto theft Texas Capital murder |
Criminal penalty | Missouri Probation (1997) Texas Death (September 27, 2002) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2 killed, 1 injured |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Lubbock, Texas |
Vaughn Ross (September 4, 1971 – July 18, 2013) was a Texas murderer. He was a graduate student at Texas Tech University before being convicted for the January 31, 2001, murders of Douglas Birdsall, 53, and Viola Ross McVade, 18, in Lubbock County, Texas.[1][2][3][4]
Background
[edit]Viola was the sister of Ross's girlfriend. Douglas Birdsall had been the associate dean at the Texas Tech library. Ross shot both victims. Later the same day, a mountain biker came across the murder scene and found both Douglas's and Viola's bodies in a car. DNA on a latex glove found in Birdsall's car and a sweatshirt Vaughn was wearing had blood of Douglas Birdsall; these were two things that linked Ross to the double murder.[5] In 2002, Ross was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection by a jury.[6] Prior to the murders, Ross had previous convictions in Missouri for auto theft and stabbing his ex-girlfriend Regina Carlisle 15 times. He pleaded guilty to these crimes in 1997 and was put on probation.[7]
Ross received attention in Sweden after he agreed to be part of a special theme week about the death penalty in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.[8] Aftonbladet covered his case and his last week alive before his execution and reported live from outside the prison on the day of the execution.[9]
Ross left a final statement before being executed which was revealed to Aftonbladet reporter Carina Bergfeldt.[1] He is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.
See also
[edit]
- Capital punishment in Texas
- List of people executed in Texas, 2010–2019
- List of people executed in the United States in 2013
References
[edit]- ^ a b Vaughn Ross final statement. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.[dead link]
- ^ Cooper, Robbie (2013-07-17) EXECUTION WATCH: Vaughn Ross (TX) Archived 2013-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. UrbanGrounds. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Lubbock man scheduled to be executed for double murder |myFOXlubbock.com | FOX 34 News Lubbock, Texas Archived 2014-01-08 at the Wayback Machine. myFOXlubbock.com (2013-07-17). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ "Death Row Information".
- ^ Vaughn Ross Execution: Ex-grad student set to die for killing 2 in Texas – Crimesider. CBS News (2013-07-13). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Jury deliberates fate of Ross | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock Online (2002-09-24). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ "Vaughn Ross v. Rick Thaler, Director, No. 12-70001 (5th Cir. 2013)". Justia.
- ^ Om en vecka ska Ross dö | Nyheter | Aftonbladet. Aftonbladet.se (2013-07-11). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Bergfeldt, Carina (2013-07-18) I dag ska Vaughn Ross dö | En vecka med döden. Bloggar.aftonbladet.se. Retrieved on 2013-07-19. Archived July 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
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- 1971 births
- 2001 murders in the United States
- 2013 deaths
- 21st-century executions by Texas
- American people convicted of assault
- American people convicted of theft
- American people executed for murder
- Executed African-American people
- Executed students
- People convicted of murder by Texas
- People executed by Texas by lethal injection
- People from St. Louis County, Missouri
- Texas Tech University alumni
- Violence against African-American women in Missouri
- Violence against African-American women in Texas