Bio

Leonard Uresti Rojas was born on June 15, 1950. As he reached adulthood, Rojas joined the U.S. Army, which took him to Germany. While serving in the Army, Rojas faced legal troubles that would follow him for much of his life.

In 1976, Rojas was arrested in California for selling heroin. His addiction led to further legal issues, and he was committed as a narcotic drug addict. This marked the beginning of a pattern of drug-related offenses in his life. In 1990, Rojas was again in trouble with the law and received a five-year sentence in Nevada for possession and sale of cocaine.

As an adult, Rojas moved to Alvarado, Texas. There, he lived with his common-law wife, Jo Ann Reed, and his brother, David Rojas. The three shared a double-wide trailer home. His life was marked by jealousy and addiction, which created tension in his personal relationships.

Murder Story

On December 27, 1994, Leonard Uresti Rojas committed a double murder in Alvarado, Texas. He had been using drugs the night before and suspected his common-law wife, Jo Ann Reed, was sleeping with his brother, David Rojas. Early that morning, after confronting Reed about his suspicions, Rojas shot her between the eyes with a .32-caliber handgun.

Then, he called his brother out of the bathroom and shot him three times. After both victims were shot, Rojas noticed that Reed was still alive. To ensure she would not survive, he placed a plastic bag over her head and covered her with pillows and blankets.

Following these actions, Rojas drank coffee and answered phone calls for Reed, telling callers that she was ill. Unable to find his car keys, he decided to leave. He hitchhiked to a bus station in Fort Worth and bought a ticket to Atlanta, Georgia. However, he only traveled as far as Dallas, where he confessed to the security guards at the bus station about the murders. Rojas surrendered to the authorities that same day and confessed, providing three consistent statements and a detailed walk-through of the crime scene.

On May 22, 1996, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Rojas was executed by lethal injection on December 4, 2002. He declined to make a last statement before his execution.