Charles Anthony Boyd
Charles Anthony Boyd | |
|---|---|
Executed | |
| Conviction(s) | Capital murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | July 22, 1986 – April 13, 1987 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Texas |
Date apprehended | April 14, 1987 |
Charles Anthony Boyd (August 17, 1959 – August 5, 1999),[1] also known as The Bathroom Slayer, was an American serial killer who raped and murdered three women in North Dallas between 1986 and 1987. He attacked all of his victims in their apartment bathrooms, contributing to his nickname. He was convicted and sentenced to death for one of the murders and was executed by lethal injection in 1999.[2][3][4]
Early life
A native of Dallas, Boyd was sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assault and burglary.[5] He was later granted early release in November 1985, after serving less than half of his sentence, after which he began working as a janitor at a nearby bank.[5] From July to September 1986, Boyd lived with his brother at his brother's apartment.[5][6]
Murders
Boyd committed his first murder on July 22, 1986, when 37-year-old Tippawan Nakusan, a Thai immigrant who lived in the apartment just upstairs of his and worked as a waitress, was found stabbed and suffocated to death in her bathtub.[5][7] On September 15, 1986, an apartment cleaning lady chanced upon 22-year-old Lashun Thomas laying dead in her apartment bathroom. She had been fatally stabbed to death.
On April 13, 1987, 20-year-old Linda Williams returned home to her apartment from work and found her roommate, 21-year-old Mary Milligan’s body stuffed in a bathtub, raped, strangled, and drowned.[6] While investigating police assumed her killer was the same one who killed Naksuwan and Thomas, by that time locals and the media had applied the pseudonym of "The Bathroom Slayings" to the string of murders. While observing the scene of Milligan’s murder, it was found that some items had been stolen from the apartment. Milligan’s car, a 1982 Cadillac was also reported to be stolen from the complex’s parking lot. It was later found abandoned.[8]
Trial and conviction
The next day, Boyd was arrested after he attempted to pawn off several of Milligan's personal items.[6] A blood and hair test was conducted after his arrest and confirmed his involvement in her death. After his arrest, he was questioned about the murders of Nakusan and Thomas, to which he confessed. In late April, Boyd was charged with the three counts of capital murder, but prosecutors only moved forward with the Milligan case because it contained forensic evidence. The trial began in early October and Boyd's lawyers claimed he was mentally retarded and therefore could not be given a death sentence. His lawyers contested Boyd had a reported IQ of 67, but another prison file listed his IQ as being 80.[9] After ten minutes of deliberating, the jury reached a guilty verdict for Boyd in November 1987, and a month later they sentenced him to death.
Execution
On August 5, 1999, Boyd was executed by lethal injection in the execution chamber at the Huntsville Unit, twelve days shy of his 40th birthday. Prior to his execution, he was asked if he would like to make a final statement, for which he declined. When the drugs took effect, however, he claimed that he was innocent; "I want you all to know I did not do this crime. I wanted to wait for a thirty day stay for a DNA test so you know who did the crime."[2][3] Not long after, Boyd let out a gasp and went silent. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m.[2]
See also
- Capital punishment in Texas
- Capital punishment in the United States
- List of people executed by lethal injection
- List of people executed in Texas, 1990–1999
- List of serial killers in the United States
External links
References
- ^ "Charles Anthony Boyd".
- ^ a b c "Execution Report: Charles Boyd Page 2". Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Death Row Information". Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "USA (Texas)Charles Anthony Boyd, aged 39" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Dallas janitor executed for slaying 21-year-old". Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Execution Report: Charles Boyd". Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Dallas janitor executed for killing 21-year-old woman". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Police question bank employee". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "BOYD v. JOHNSON". Retrieved 22 September 2021.