Bio

Ronnie Hyde was born on October 21, 1958, in Harris County, Texas, and worked as a laborer. He had a prior felony conviction from Cherokee County for criminal attempt of murder. Hyde and a co-defendant kidnapped a 33-year-old man at gunpoint from his home, bound him with electrical and duct tape, forced him into the trunk of his own car, and pushed the car into the Nueces River. The car did not fully submerge, and the victim survived. Hyde received a 20-year sentence for this offense and was released on mandatory supervision to Cherokee County on September 1, 1994.

Murder Story

On May 8, 1998, Ronnie Hyde went to the Bedias, Texas, home of 72-year-old Charles Roberson. Roberson was elderly, in poor health, and often hired local men, including Hyde, to help him with household chores. He was also known to carry large amounts of cash.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stated that Roberson was murdered in his bedroom. His death was caused by at least 16 blows to the head with a claw hammer. Most, if not all, of the blows were inflicted while he was lying in bed, and the crime scene showed no evidence of a struggle.

Hyde later told police that he went to Roberson’s home to get money. In his statement, he claimed that after he entered the house, Roberson attacked him and hit him with an object. Hyde said he grabbed a claw hammer and struck Roberson once, but he claimed he did not remember the additional blows. After the attack, Hyde took Roberson’s wallet and money from a bedside table.

TDCJ’s summary states that Hyde took about $1,000 and fled on foot. The record also states that Hyde had worked for the victim in the previous weeks and was acquainted with him.

At trial, prosecutors argued that Hyde killed Roberson during the course of robbery or burglary. Hyde’s statements to acquaintances also supported the prosecution’s case because he had told people he went to the victim’s house to get money and hit him with a hammer.

A jury convicted Hyde of capital murder, and the trial court sentenced him to death after the jury answered the punishment-phase special issues in a way that required a death sentence under Texas law. He was received by TDCJ on May 24, 2000.

On direct appeal, Hyde challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and raised several claims involving hearsay, ineffective assistance of counsel, and the jury charge. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected those arguments and affirmed the conviction and death sentence on January 29, 2003.

Hyde remained on Texas death row for more than a decade. He was never executed. TDCJ’s official “Inmates No Longer on Death Row” list states that he died in custody on July 23, 2013. A Texas death-penalty development report also stated that Hyde died from unspecified medical conditions while on death row.