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Texas killer asks victims’ families for forgiveness before becoming first execution of 2026
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A Texas man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend died by lethal injection Wednesday evening, marking the first U.S. execution of the year.
Charles Victor Thompson, 55, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. local time after receiving the injection at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Huntsville Unit. He was found guilty in the April 1998 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, 30, at the woman’s Houston-area apartment.
Before the lethal dose was administered, Thompson asked the families of his victims for forgiveness, adding that he hoped “you can begin to heal and move past this.”
“There are no winners in this situation,” he said after a spiritual adviser prayed over him, adding that his execution “creates more victims and traumatizes more people 28 years later.”
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Texas executed Charles Victor Thompson, the first person put to death in the U.S. this year. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
“I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry for what happened, and I want to tell all of y’all, I love you and that … keep Jesus in your life, keep Jesus first,” he said in his final words.
Thompson gasped loudly as the injection began taking effect, according to The Associated Press, before taking about a dozen breaths that turned into snoring sounds. He then stopped moving and was pronounced dead about 22 minutes later.
After witnessing the execution, Dennis Cain, whose son was killed by Thompson, said, “He’s in hell.”
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Charles Victor Thompson was executed in Texas for the 1998 killings of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
Harris County District Attorney Sean Tear, whose office prosecuted the case, said, “This chapter is closed.”
“It was justice a long time coming,” he added.
On the night of the murders, Thompson visited Hayslip’s apartment at 3 a.m. and got into an argument with Cain, according to court records. Thompson was told to leave the complex after police were called, but returned three hours later and shot the couple.
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An execution chamber in a Texas prison. (AP)
Cain died at the scene, while Hayslip died one week later.
Thompson’s original death sentence was later overturned, but a jury again sentenced him to die by lethal injection following a new punishment trial in November 2005.
Not long after being resentenced, Thompson escaped from the Harris County Jail in Houston and spent three days on the run before being caught.
He was arrested in Louisiana while trying to set up overseas wire transfers in an apparent attempt to flee to Canada.
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About an hour before the scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a brief order rejecting a final appeal from Thompson. Earlier this week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Thompson’s request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A 36-year-old man from Lancaster drowned near Lake Tahoe over Memorial Day weekend, authorities announced Monday.
Officials with the Truckee Police Department said an emergency response was launched on Donner Lake just before 5 p.m. after reports that the victim, identified as Juan Carlos Garcia-Gutierrez, was last seen struggling to stay above water.
Donner Lake is in Truckee, approximately 15 miles north of Lake Tahoe.
Investigators said Garcia-Gutierrez had been out on the water in a pontoon boat when he decided to go for a swim without a flotation device.
“Once in the water, wind conditions caused the boat to drift away and ultimately he was unable to reach the safety of his vessel,” investigators said in a news release.
The lake’s boat launch was temporarily closed as first responders conducted the recovery effort, though difficult weather conditions nearly suspended the search. As darkness approached, wind conditions died down and police continued to look for the victim.
Using a remotely operated underwater vehicle, first responders located Garcia-Gutierrez’s body around 9:20 p.m. in more than 100 feet of water.
“The decedent was brought ashore and released to the Nevada County Coroner’s Office, who serves as the County Coroner,” the release stated.
Police officials thanked the Truckee Fire Protection District and the California State Park Police for their assistance in the recovery operation. They also extended their condolences to the victim’s friends and family.
Authorities are investigating a shooting that left a man dead in a car in Boyle Heights on Sunday night.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a “multiple shots fired” call came out at 9:45 p.m. near 4th and Mott streets.
“When officers arrived, they found a vehicle stopped in lanes,” an LAPD spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “Upon further investigation, they found a man … suffering from a gunshot wound.”
The victim, who was only listed as a Hispanic man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene by L.A. Fire Department paramedics, the LAPD spokesperson said.
There was no information on a suspect right away. Video from the scene showed investigators centering their probe around an SUV, with the area blocked off and a white tent erected.
Nancy Fontan and KTLA photojournalist Dan Lunsford contributed to this report.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Robert Bolanos has died after a “lengthy illness,” the sheriff’s department announced Sunday.
Detective Bolanos joined LASD in 2000, working in the North County Correctional Facility and the Men’s Central Jail. He completed his patrol training at the Century Sheriff’s Station, where he later became a school resource officer.
He ended his career as an LASD detective working out of the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones, friends, and partners in tan and green during this difficult time,” the sheriff’s department said.
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