Bio 

Peter J. Miniel was born on June 23, 1962. He is a Hispanic male from Cook County, Illinois. Before the murder of Paul Manier, he worked in construction and had completed about nine years of education. Miniel had a criminal record before the Texas murder case. His earlier convictions in Illinois included theft, disorderly conduct, unlawful weapon possession, and aggravated battery. Court and execution records later noted that this background was part of the state’s evidence when prosecutors argued that he was a continuing danger.

Before the murder, Miniel had been living with a pattern of criminal behavior across more than one state. Reports from his later execution coverage state that he described his earlier life as filled with anger and conflict. In a death-row interview shortly before his execution, he said he had grown up with “a lot of animosity” and anger, though this statement was made years after the crime and did not change the court’s findings.

In May 1986, Miniel was 23 years old. He was with James Warren Russell Jr. when the two men went to the apartment of 20-year-old Paul Manier in the Houston area. What began as a visit connected to drugs and partying turned into a robbery plan, then a fatal attack.

Murder Story

On May 9, 1986, Peter J. Miniel and James Warren Russell Jr. were at the Houston-area apartment of Paul Manier, a 20-year-old man living in North Harris County, Texas. During the visit, Miniel suggested that they rob Manier. Russell helped distract Manier by saying he was going outside to get cocaine.

While Manier was preparing a mirror for drug use, Miniel attacked him from behind. He struck Manier on the back of the head with a beer mug. Manier fell, but the attack continued.

Russell then used an automobile shock absorber to hit Manier in the head. Miniel later took the shock absorber himself and continued beating Manier. When the beating did not stop Manier’s movement, Miniel used a small knife and stabbed him repeatedly.

Miniel also tried to cut Manier’s throat while Russell held him down. Because the knife was dull, Miniel then pushed part of a blanket into Manier’s throat in an attempt to suffocate him. Medical evidence showed that Manier suffered six blunt-force injuries to the head, 39 stab wounds, and 10 cuts.

After the killing, Miniel and Russell stole Manier’s wallet, which contained about $20. They searched the apartment for drugs or more money but found little else, so they took stereo equipment. They cleaned blood from themselves, hid the knife, and then went out to eat.

Miniel fled first to Indiana and then to Illinois. He was arrested in Chicago later that month. Russell was arrested in Brookshire, Texas. Some of the stolen stereo equipment was later recovered from a neighbor of Miniel’s in Chicago, and the rest was recovered after Miniel gave police a statement.

James Warren Russell Jr. was also charged with capital murder, but he accepted a 50-year sentence for murder in exchange for testifying against Miniel. Miniel rejected a plea offer that would have spared him from the possibility of execution and chose to go to trial.

On October 7, 1988, a jury convicted Peter Miniel of capital murder. On October 12, 1988, after a separate punishment phase, the court sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later affirmed the conviction and sentence, and the United States Supreme Court denied review.

Miniel continued filing appeals in state and federal court, but they were denied. In 2003, the Fifth Circuit denied him permission to appeal the federal habeas ruling. The court reviewed claims about mitigating evidence, jury fairness, and defense counsel’s performance, but rejected his request for further review.

Shortly before his execution, Miniel admitted guilt in a death-row interview after years of denying responsibility. He said he had lied when he claimed he was not guilty and stated that he was ready to accept punishment. He also told his attorneys not to file further appeals.

Peter J. Miniel was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, on October 6, 2004. He was 42 years old. His final statement was brief, “Into your hands, Oh Lord, I commence my spirit. Amen.” He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.