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

A Texas man who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and fatally shot an 18-year-old woman in 2001 was executed the night of Wednesday, June 26, on what would have been his victim, Bridget Townsend’s, 41st birthday. Ramiro Gonzales was pronounced dead just before 7 p.m. following a chemical injection at the state prison in Huntsville. 

“She was a beautiful person who loved life and loved people,” her mother, Patricia Townsend, told USA Today. “Every time she was with somebody she hadn’t seen in a while, she had to hug ’em. She didn’t deserve what she got.”

Bridget Townsend was just getting her start in life as a young woman in the small Texas town of Bandera when Ramiro Gonzales raped and killed her. https://t.co/RL3LiSFpio

— The News-Press (@TheNewsPress) June 26, 2024

The Supreme Court denied a defense plea to intervene less than two hours before the execution. Gonzales used his final words to apologize to Townsend’s family. 

“I can’t put into words the pain I have caused y’all, the hurt, what I took away that I cannot give back,” Gonzales said. “I hope this apology is enough.”

Gonzales was also serving two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman. 

“We have finally witnessed justice be being served,” Townsend’s brother, David, said after watching the execution. “This day marks the end of a long and painful journey for our family. For over two decades we have endured unimaginable pain and heartache.”

This execution was the second this year in Texas and the eighth in the U.S. 

It was also the first of two scheduled this week in the U.S. Oklahoma is scheduled to execute Richard Rojem on Thursday for the 1984 abduction, rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl.