A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution. Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55pm CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, the AP reports. He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez's 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.
Ricks apologized repeatedly to seven relatives of his victims who looked on, particularly Marcus Figueroa. The attack survivor showed no emotion, watching through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped to a gurney. On the back of Marcus Figueroa's neck, visible above his shirt collar and below his hair, were several scars apparently from the attack. "I want to say that I'm sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y'all," Ricks said when asked by the warden if he had a final statement. "I'm glad to be able to speak to tell y'all that face to face."
He said he hoped one day that his victims' relatives would be able to find it in their hearts to forgive him. He also addressed Marcus Figueroa, saying he hated that he took his mother and brother away. "I always thought about you and I'm sorry that I took your mom and your brother away. I hate that you had to experience that, I just can't imagine, but I'm truly sorry for what I've done, and I wish y'all peace and joy as much as you can but I'm sorry, that's all I can say," Ricks said. His voice cracking and tear forming in his eye, he added that he hoped to find the woman and her son in heaven and "tell them I'm sorry face to face."
The night of the killings, prosecutors said, Ricks and Sanchez had been arguing in their apartment when the woman's two sons from a previous marriage tried to break up the fight. Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, court records showed. Marcus Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and tried to call police. After killing Anthony Figueroa, Ricks began stabbing Marcus Figueroa, who played dead until his attacker left the apartment, authorities said. Ricks did not harm his own then-9-month-old son Isaiah, according to court records. Ricks fled and was later arrested in Oklahoma. A day before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
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