Bio

Michael Lynn Riley was born on May 9, 1958, in Dallas, Texas. He attended school for about ten years but struggled academically. By the time he was a teenager, he faced issues with the law, having his first encounter with the justice system at age 19.

Riley had a history of offenses. He was sentenced to two years in prison in March 1977 for burglary and larceny but was discharged in November 1978. In January 1980, he received a nine-year sentence for burglary of a building, from which he was paroled in July 1983. Following his release, he also faced charges for forgery and writing bad checks.

Before his most infamous crime, he was known to local law enforcement, having several run-ins with the law. Starting off as a metal worker, Riley developed a reputation for petty crime in his community. Unfortunately, these early experiences would shape his later decisions and lead him down a much darker path.

Murder Story

On February 1, 1986, Michael Lynn Riley entered the Shop-A-Minit convenience store in Quitman, Texas. He was a regular customer at the store. That morning, he asked the clerk, Wynona Lynn Harris, for ice cream. While she counted cash for the store, Harris told him to help himself. As soon as she turned her back, Riley attacked her from behind using a large butcher knife. He stabbed her thirty-one times, resulting in her death. After the attack, he took a cloth bag containing $1,110 in cash and fled the store.

Later that day, a customer came into the store and discovered Harris's body behind the counter. This customer alerted authorities. A milk delivery driver had seen a man in distinctive coveralls outside the convenience store around the time of the murder. Investigators followed bloody footprints leading from the scene back to Riley's nearby home.

Riley eventually turned himself in to the Wood County sheriff's office, citing that he had heard police were looking for him. Initially, he denied being at the store that morning, but when confronted with evidence, he was brought back for further questioning. During the investigation, he led police to bloodstained coveralls hidden in a field near his home, which contained $970 in one of the pockets. After waiving his rights, Riley confessed to the murder.

In November 1986, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. However, this conviction was overturned in 1993 due to jury selection errors. In September 1995, he was retried, found guilty again, and sentenced to death. Despite multiple appeals and claims regarding his mental competency, he was executed by lethal injection on May 19, 2009, at the age of 51.