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A South Texas man convicted of murdering three young children he helped raise was executed Thursday evening, nearly 23 years after the murders.
John Allen Rubio, 46, of Brownsville, received a lethal injection at a state prison in Huntsville, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Rubio was convicted of stabbing and decapitating his children, Julissa Quezada, 3, John Esteban Rubio, 1, and Mary Jane Rubio, 2 months. He was prosecuted alongside his common-law wife, Angela Camacho.
Rubio was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m., 21 minutes after the lethal injection began, the AP said.
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A fence, barbed wire and a guard are seen at a Texas prison, January 22, 2025. John Allen Rubio was executed in Texas on November 12, 2026. (Cécile Clocheret/AFP via Getty Images; Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
The execution, scheduled for 6 p.m., took place without incident.
In his final statement, Rubio thanked his friends and family for their “love and understanding,” acknowledged that he was “not the same person I once was” and expressed his love for his wife, according to the AP.
“I want to say I’m sorry to my wife’s family,” he said. “I can’t change the past, but I can tell you that my life is going to be over. But that won’t make you happy.
“I will soon be with my children,” he added. “I am ready to go to heaven to be with my lord and savior.”
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John Allen Rubio was convicted of murdering three young children in 2003 and sentenced to death. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
The execution ended a case dating back to March 11, 2003, when Rubio and Camacho killed their three children in a windowless apartment.
According to court records, Rubio was not the biological father of the two older children, but he nonetheless took on a parental role in their lives, the outlet reported.
Before the murders, Rubio allegedly claimed the children were possessed and presented himself as “the chosen one” destined to save the world.
Rubio at one point pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Defense experts reportedly diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia, but prosecution experts ultimately disputed those findings.
His defense team also painted a picture of a deeply troubled childhood, citing violence, toxic parents, drug use and prostitution as factors that stunted his development, the AP said.
Camacho pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence for his role in the murders, according to reports.
The building where the children were killed has since been demolished and the property has been transformed into a community park and garden, according to the AP.
This photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows James Pavatt in February 2023. Pavatt was executed just hours before Rubio received a lethal injection. (Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network; Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)
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Rubio’s death is the second of two executions scheduled for Thursday in the United States.
Hours earlier, James Pavatt, 73, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma. Pavatt was convicted of plotting and committing the 2001 murder of his partner’s ex-husband.
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