Bio

Donald Keith Newbury was born on May 18, 1962. He grew up in Bernalillo, New Mexico. Donald Keith Newbury was known as “The I-35 Robber,” a nickname tied to a series of robberies committed along the Interstate 35 corridor in Texas during the 1990s before the prison escape case that later brought national attention.

Newbury worked as a carpenter, electrician, and laborer. He had several encounters with the law starting at a young age. He was sentenced to a ten-year prison term for aggravated robbery in the early 1980s. After serving part of his sentence, he was released on mandatory supervision. Unfortunately, he had trouble staying out of trouble.

In 1987, Newbury was arrested again for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. He received a 15-year sentence and was released on parole in 1992. His life did not improve after this. He violated his parole in 1998 and was given a 99-year sentence for another robbery.

By 2000, he was at the John Connally Unit, a maximum-security prison in Texas. It was there that he would participate in a major escape with six other inmates, later known as the "Texas Seven."

Murder Story

On December 24, 2000, Donald Keith Newbury was part of a group known as the Texas Seven. While on escape from prison, Newbury and six other inmates decided to rob an Oshman's Sporting Goods store in Irving, Texas. During the robbery, they took a large number of firearms. A police officer named Aubrey Hawkins responded to the robbery. As he arrived outside the store, Newbury and the others ambushed him.

Officer Hawkins was shot multiple times; the investigation later revealed he had suffered eleven gunshot wounds. After shooting him, Newbury and his gang ran over Officer Hawkins with their vehicle as they fled the scene. The murder of Officer Hawkins brought a large public response, and a reward was offered for information leading to the capture of the Texas Seven.

Newbury was later arrested along with other members of the Texas Seven in January 2001. In court, he was sentenced to death for his role in the murder of Officer Hawkins. On January 28, 2002, he received his death sentence.