Texas man executed for 2001 abduction and killing of 18-year-old woman

Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The state of Texas has executed a man who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and fatally shot an 18-year-old woman in 2001. Inmate Ramiro Gonzales was pronounced dead after a chemical injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. The 41-year-old man was condemned to die for killing Bridget Townsend after kidnapping her from a home in a rural area northwest of San Antonio in January 2001. Townsend’s body wasn’t found until October 2002, when Gonzales led authorities to her remains after he had received two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman. Gonzales was repeatedly apologetic to the victim’s family in his final words before the lethal injection began.