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Jose SANTELLAN
Sr.
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Various sex acts with the corpse
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: August 22,
1993
Date of arrest: 2 days after
Date of birth:
March 8,
1962
Victim profile: Yolanda
Garza, 31 (his former girlfriend)
Method of murder:
Shooting
Location: Gillespie County, Texas, USA
Status:
Executed
by lethal injection in Texas on April 10,
2002
Summary:
In 1993, Santellan confronted his former girlfriend, Yolanda Garza,
in the parking lot as she left her job as a nurse assistant.
Witnesses watched as Santellan shot Garza with a pistol, carried her
body into his car, then left. Santellan later confessed that he
absconded with Yolanda because he "just wanted to get away and be
with her and spend some time together."
Santellan stopped at motel, carried Yolanda's body into the motel
room and engaged in various sex acts with the corpse. He poured
perfume on the body to alleviate the growing stench of decomposition.
Santellan also drafted several letters to family members, asking
their forgiveness for the murder. Yolanda had earlier written a
resignation letter to the hospital indicating an intent to move due
to a "domestic problem endangering my welfare and possibly that of
my children."
Citations:
Santellan v. State, 939 S.W.2d 155 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997) (Direct
Appeal). Santellan v. Cockrell, 271 F.3d 190 (5th Cir. 2001).
Final Meal:
12 pieces of fried chicken, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, 2
rolls with butter, 2 Pepsi, 1 pint of strawberry ice cream, and 1
pint of vanilla ice cream.
Final Words:
"I hope and pray they can forgive me. I loved Yolanda a lot. Even
though they're not here, I hope they will read my words." In a voice
choked with emotion, Santellan told his relatives, watching from a
nearby room, that he loved them all and thanked them for his support.
As they cried, he told them he would be all right. "To the guys on
death row, stay strong. I hope to see you someday."
ClarkProsecutor.org
Texas Attorney General
Media Advisory
Jose Santellan, Sr. Scheduled to
be Executed.
AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn
offers the following information on Jose Santellan, Sr., who is
scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, 2002.
On March 10, 1995, Jose Santellan, Sr., was
sentenced for the capital murder of Yolanda Garza, which occurred in
Fredericksburg, Texas, on Aug. 22, 1993. A summary of the evidence
presented at trial follows:
FACTS OF THE CRIME
On Aug. 22, 1993, Santellan confronted his former
girlfriend, Yolanda Garza, as she left her job as a nurse assistant
at the Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Garza was walking through the parking lot with Norma Hoffman, a co-worker.
As the two women parted, Santellan approached Garza as she was
walking toward her car. She changed directions and walked with
Santellan.
Hoffman watched Garza and Santellan talking, but at a
distance of 70 feet, she could not understand what was being said or
whether the two were arguing. When Hoffman last saw her standing,
Yolanda was about five feet from Santellan and about 20 feet from
where she had first encountered him.
Hoffman heard Garza scream, "Think of my kids!"
She saw Santellan standing over Garza's body with his pistol drawn.
Hoffman heard two shots and saw Santellan shake his gun as if to
dislodge a jam, but she acknowledged that other shots might have
been fired before she took notice. Hoffman left in her vehicle to go
get help.
A second eyewitness, hospital housekeeper
Guadalupe Noriega, entered the parking lot and saw Garza bleeding
and motionless. Noriega rushed back into the hospital to seek help.
When she returned to the parking lot, Noriega saw Santellan's car
parked next to Garza as he loaded her into the passenger seat,
grabbed her backpack and drove away.
Santellan later confessed that he absconded with
Garza because he "just wanted to get away and be with her and spend
some time together." Santellan drove west for several hours before
checking into a motel in Camp Wood, Texas.
He carried Garza's body
into the hotel room and engaged in various sex acts with the corpse.
He poured perfume on the body to alleviate the growing stench of
decomposition. Santellan also drafted several letters to family
members, asking their forgiveness for the murder. The police found
and arrested Santellan at the motel on August 24. Santellan
confessed voluntarily.
Additional evidence at trial indicated that
Santellan and Garza had been in a relationship but had a "big fight"
in July 1993. Subsequently, Garza had written a resignation letter
to the hospital indicating an intent to move due to a "domestic
problem endangering my welfare and possibly that of my children."
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
April 26, 1994 - A grand jury indicted Santellan
in the 216th Judicial District Court of Gillespie County, Texas, for
the capital offense of murdering Yolanda Garza while in the course
of attempting to commit kidnapping.
March 8, 1995 - Although Santellan entered a plea
of not guilty, a jury found him guilty of capital murder. January 29, 1997 -
His conviction and sentence were automatically appealed to the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed in a published opinion.
February 17, 1997 - Santellan filed an
application for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court.
October 7, 1997 - The trial court entered
findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending the denial of
habeas relief.
March 18, 1998 - The Court of Criminal Appeals
adopted the findings and conclusions and denied habeas relief in an
unpublished order.
August, 13, 1998 - The trial court set
Santellan's execution for Dec. 8, 1998.
September 18, 1998 - The United States District
Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, stayed
Santellan's execution.
December 1, 1998 - Santellan filed a petition for
writ of habeas corpus in the federal district court.
March 10, 2000 - The federal district court
partially granted habeas relief and ordered a new trial.
March 15, 2000 - The Attorney General of Texas
appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit.
October 17, 2001 - The Fifth Circuit reversed the
district court and denied habeas relief in a published opinion.
November 14, 2001 - The Fifth Circuit denied
Santellan's petition for rehearing.
January 11, 2002 - The trial court set
Santellan's execution for April 10, 2002.
February 12, 2002 - Santellan filed a petition
for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
February 13, 2002 - The federal district court
stayed Santellan's execution.
March 15, 2002 - The Fifth Circuit vacated the
district court's stay of execution.
March 25, 2002 - Santellan filed a second
certiorari petition in the Supreme Court, which is pending.
PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY
The evidence at Santellan's trial revealed a long
history of criminal violence:
In March 1987, Santellan received five years
probation for burglary; In July 1987, Santellan's probation was
revoked after he was convicted of assault for beating up another man.
He was sentenced to two years in TDCJ and paroled a year later.
In September 1988, a month after Santellan was
paroled, he was arrested for criminal trespass; this incident
involved a verbal altercation with his girlfriend; A little over a
month later, Santellan was arrested for assault and resisting arrest.
In April 1989, he was returned to TDCJ without
new charges due to his trespass, assault and resisting arrest. He
was released to mandatory supervision in May 1989 and discharged in
July 1990; After he moved to Fredricksburg and then to Michigan,
Santellan was arrested for shoplifting a pack of cigarettes in
November 1990; A few days later Santellan was arrested for breaking
and entering, assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a
concealed weapon; While in jail, Santellan broke a window and was
charged with malicious destruction of police property; Santellan was
also involved in a violent escape attempt.
In July 1991, he was convicted of escaping from
jail through violence, assault of a prison employee and assault with
a deadly weapon, and sentenced to 2-4 years in Michigan state prison.
He was paroled in 1992 and moved to Texas.
In November 1993, while being held pending his
capital murder trial, Santellan assaulted a jailer, punching him in
the face and ribs and stomping on his glasses; In October 1999,
Santellan attacked a male and female TDCJ guard. He was later
convicted of two counts of assault of a public servant; While
awaiting trial, Santellan set his cell on fire and then assaulted
the correctional officers who attempted to rescue him from the
burning cell; Santellan threatened and assaulted several
correctional officers by throwing his urine and brandishing a broken
mop handle; Santellan smashed the television in his cell and
threatened officers with the jagged shards of glass; In addition to
these criminal offenses, TDCJ reports additional attacks on guards
as well as on inmates. Santellan also admits to choking a girlfriend
in 1986 and robbing a Uvalde store at gunpoint while on the run
after the murder.
ProDeathPenalty.com
On Aug. 22, 1993, Jose Santellan confronted his
former girlfriend, Yolanda Garza, as she left her job as a nurse
assistant at the Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg,
Texas.
Yolanda was walking through the parking lot with
a co-worker. As the two women parted, Santellan approached Yolanda
as she was walking toward her car. She changed directions and walked
with Santellan. The witness watched Yolanda and Santellan talking,
but at a distance of 70 feet, she could not understand what was
being said or whether the two were arguing. When the witness last
saw her standing, Yolanda was about five feet from Santellan and
about 20 feet from where she had first encountered him.
The witness heard Yolanda scream, "Think of my
kids!" She saw Santellan standing over Yolanda's body with his
pistol drawn. She heard two shots and saw Santellan shake his gun as
if to dislodge a jam, but she acknowledged that other shots might
have been fired before she took notice. The witness left in her
vehicle to go get help.
A second eyewitness, a hospital housekeeper,
entered the parking lot and saw Yolanda bleeding and motionless.
This witness rushed back into the hospital to seek help. When she
returned to the parking lot, she saw Santellan's car parked next to
Yolanda as he loaded her into the passenger seat, grabbed her
backpack and drove away.
Santellan later confessed that he absconded with
Yolanda because he "just wanted to get away and be with her and
spend some time together." Santellan drove west for several hours
before checking into a motel in Camp Wood, Texas.
He carried Yolanda's body into the hotel room and
engaged in various sex acts with the corpse. He poured perfume on
the body to alleviate the growing stench of decomposition. Santellan
also drafted several letters to family members, asking their
forgiveness for the murder.
The police found and arrested Santellan at the
motel on August 24. Santellan confessed voluntarily.
Additional evidence at trial indicated that
Santellan and Yolanda had been in a relationship but had a "big
fight" in July 1993. Subsequently, Yolanda had written a resignation
letter to the hospital indicating an intent to move due to a "domestic
problem endangering my welfare and possibly that of my children."
Jose Santellan Sr.
Associated Press
TEXAS: A federal judge has overturned the capital
murder conviction of a Fredricksburg man in the 1993 death of his
ex-girlfriend, saying the crime involved murder but not kidnapping.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ordered a new
trial for murder within 180 days for Jose Santellan Sr., 38, who was
sentenced to die for killing 31-year-old Yolanda Garza in August
1993. Santellan will not be released pending a possible new trial.
He is also serving a life sentence for aggravated assault in a
separate incident.
Sparks ruled that the evidence presented at
Santellan's trial showed he killed Garza, but not that he kidnapped
her 1st. Generally, to receive the death penalty in Texas, a person
must have killed someone during the process of committing another
felony. "The court finds that, considering the evidence in the light
most favorable to the verdict, no rational jury could have found
beyond a reasonable doubt that the petitioner attempted to abduct or
restrain the victim by use of deadly force," Sparks wrote.
According to trial testimony, Garza was dead
before any abduction occurred. Santellan admitted killing Garza.
Prosecutors said the woman was completing her shift as a nurse's
aide at Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredricksburg when
Santellan approached her in the parking lot. As they walked toward
her car, Santellan shot her 4 times, including in the head and chest.
He then put her body in his truck, drove to a Camp Wood hotel and
had sex with the corpse.
Attorney General John Cornyn has appealed Sparks'
decision to the U.S. 5th Court of Criminal Appeals.
Santellan v. Cockrell,
271 F.3d 190 (5th Cir. 2001).
The district court granted a writ of habeas
corpus to Jose Santellan, a death-sentenced Texas prisoner, after it
concluded that no rational jury could find that he murdered his ex-girlfriend
while in the course of attempted kidnapping. The federal court also
concluded that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed
Santellan's conviction on a factual basis sufficiently different
from that espoused by the state at trial as to deny due process.
Based on the appropriately deferential (AEDPA) standard of review of
the state court's decision, we hold that the state court did not
unreasonably apply clearly established federal law and reverse the
district court's judgment. We also reject Santellan's cross-appeal
urging an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
On the afternoon of August 22, 1993, Santellan
confronted his former girlfriend, Yolanda Garza, as she left work at
the Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg, Texas. Garza
had been walking through the parking lot with a co-worker, Norma
Hoffman. As the two women parted, Santellan approached Garza; he
might have emerged from behind some dumpsters or a wall at the end
of the parking lot. Garza veered from her previous course along with
Santellan and walked away from her automobile. Hoffman watched Garza
and Santellan talking, but at a distance of 70 feet, she could not
understand what was being said or whether the two were arguing. The
last time Hoffman saw Yolanda standing, she was about five feet from
Santellan and about 20 feet from where she had met him.
Garza suddenly screamed, "Think of my kids!"
Santellan was now standing over her with his pistol drawn. Hoffman
heard two shots and saw Santellan shake his gun as if to dislodge a
jam, but she acknowledged that other shots might have been fired
before she took notice. Santellan continued to stand over Yolanda's
body. At about this time, a second eye-witness, hospital house-keeper
Guadalupe Noriega, entered the parking lot. She saw Garza bleeding
and motionless and rushed back into the hospital to seek help.
Returning to the parking lot, Noriega saw Santellan's car parked
next to the victim as he loaded her into the passenger seat, put in
her backpack and drove away.
Santellan later confessed that he absconded with
Garza's dying body because he "just wanted to get away and be with
her and spend some time together." Santellan drove west for several
hours before checking into a motel in Camp Wood, Texas. He carried
Garza's body into the hotel room. During the next night and day,
Santellan engaged in various sex acts with the corpse. He poured
perfume on the body to alleviate the growing stench of decomposition.
He also drafted several letters to family members, asking their
forgiveness for the murder. The police found and arrested Santellan
at the motel on August 24th. Santellan confessed voluntarily.
In April 1994, Santellan was indicted for the
capital murder of Yolanda Garza while *192 in the course of
attempting to kidnap her. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to
death a year later. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his
conviction.
Santellan v. Texas,
939 S.W.2d 155 (Tex.Crim.App.1997).
Santellan then unsuccessfully sought habeas
corpus relief in state court. His quest for habeas relief prevailed,
however, in the federal district court. The district court found the
evidence constitutionally insufficient to support a conviction for
murder in the course of attempted kidnapping, and it refused to
defer to the state court's decisions.
The federal court first rejected the state's
principal theory of the crime, as it concluded that, "No rational
jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that [Santellan]
attempted to abduct or restrain the victim by use of deadly force
when he approached the victim in the parking lot." Second, the
federal court held that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
unreasonably affirmed the conviction on a factual and legal basis
that the state had "disavowed" before the jury; the court considered
this alleged modification of the basis for the verdict to violate
Santellan's due process rights.
Finally, while the court agreed with Santellan
that his attorney rendered unconstitutionally deficient performance
by not investigating the petitioner's possible organic brain damage,
it found that this error did not prejudice Santellan.
