Bio

Daniel Juan Revilla was born on July 14, 1968. He grew up in Oklahoma. Revilla became involved in a relationship with a teenage girl named Michelle McElmurry. At the age of 18, he was living with her and helped take care of her 13-month-old son, Mark Gomez.

On January 26, 1987, Revilla took McElmurry to a health clinic. He was responsible for watching her son at their shared home during this time. After about 40 minutes, he arrived at a county hospital, carrying the baby in his arms and screaming that the child was not breathing. Medical staff quickly noted several injuries on the infant's body.

During the investigation, Revilla claimed that he arrived home to find Gomez lifeless on the floor. He stated that he tried to revive the baby by hitting him in the abdomen and running water over him in the bathtub. However, his explanation of the events surrounding the child's death raised suspicion among authorities.

Witnesses, including Gomez's mother, shared experiences highlighting Revilla's negative feelings toward the child, as he was not his biological son. They described instances of past abuse, which contributed to the jury's perception of Revilla's character during the trial.

Murder Story

On January 26, 1987, Daniel Juan Revilla was babysitting 13-month-old Mark Gomez, the son of his teenage girlfriend, Michelle McElmurry. Revilla and McElmurry went to the Jackson County Health Department for a checkup, leaving Mark alone in their home for about 40 minutes. Upon returning, Revilla claimed to find the baby unresponsive on the floor.

In a panic, Revilla attempted to revive Mark by striking him in the abdomen. When this did not work, he took him to the bathtub and ran water over him. However, he accidentally turned on the hot water, causing burns to the child. Revilla then wrapped the baby in a blanket and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he entered the lobby carrying Mark and yelling that the child was not breathing.

Hospital staff noticed that Mark had multiple injuries, including burns, bruises, and lacerations. Despite efforts to revive the child, he was declared dead shortly after arrival. An autopsy revealed severe trauma, including swelling and bleeding of the brain, and a severed liver due to blunt force trauma.

During the investigation, experts testified that the nature of Mark's injuries indicated that they could not have resulted from accidental causes as Revilla had claimed. Additionally, witnesses testified about Revilla's history of abuse toward the child, describing earlier incidents where he had subjected Mark to severe mistreatment.

Revilla was arrested on the same day as the murder and was later found guilty of first-degree child abuse murder. The trial revealed a pattern of abuse over time, contrasting with Revilla's defense that he had acted out of panic and attempted to save the baby.

He was sentenced to death in December 1987. After spending over a decade on death row, Revilla maintained his innocence but also expressed a desire to be executed. His execution was finalized by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. On January 16, 2003, he was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.