Bio

Frederick Patrick McWilliams was born on December 1, 1973, in Harris County, Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice lists him as a Black male, 5 feet 7 inches tall, with an 11th-grade education. Before his arrest for capital murder, he had worked as a warehouse worker.

Before the murder, McWilliams had already been involved in criminal activity. The Texas Attorney General’s summary and court records state that he had received deferred adjudication probation for an aggravated robbery in 1993 and had also been convicted of evading arrest in 1994. Later testimony also linked him to several robberies around the time of the Rodriguez murder.

By September 1996, McWilliams was part of a group that included Kenneth Adams and Richard Hawkins. Court records show that the group was involved in robberies in Harris and Waller counties. The killing of Alfonso Rodriguez happened during this broader crime spree, when McWilliams and the others were looking for a car to steal.

Murder Story

On September 28, 1996, Frederick Patrick McWilliams was with Kenneth Adams and Richard Hawkins in Houston, Texas. The group went to an apartment complex while looking for a car to steal. At the complex, McWilliams and Adams found Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. asleep inside his parked car. Both men were armed. Adams pulled Rodriguez from the car while McWilliams searched the vehicle.

Rodriguez was beaten and then forced toward the trunk. Hawkins drove away because he did not want to take part in the robbery. As he left, he heard a gunshot. Rodriguez was shot in the head at close range and died from the wound. McWilliams and Adams then stole his car. Later, McWilliams admitted to Hawkins that he had shot Rodriguez.

A few days later, Adams was stopped for speeding. Police searched the car and found several guns. One of the guns was identified as the weapon used to kill Rodriguez. Adams confessed and named McWilliams. After his arrest, McWilliams first blamed Adams, but later admitted shooting Rodriguez.

McWilliams was indicted for capital murder on November 15, 1996. He was found guilty on September 4, 1997, and sentenced to death on September 9, 1997. His appeals were later denied. Frederick Patrick McWilliams was executed by lethal injection in Texas on November 10, 2004. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.