Vaughn Ross
Vaughn Ross (September 4, 1971 – July 18, 2013) was a Texas murderer with a prior doctorate degree in architecture, who was convicted for the January 31, 2001, murders of Douglas Birdsall, 53, and Viola Ross McVade, 18, in Lubbock County, Texas, USA.[1][2][3]
Background
Viola was the sister of Ross' girlfriend. Douglas Birdsall had been the associate dean at the Texas Tech library. Ross shot both victims. Later the same day, a mountain biker came across the murder scene and found both Douglas' and Viola's bodies in a car.[4] DNA on a latex glove found in Birdsall's car and a sweatshirt found in Ross' apartment were two things that linked Ross to the double murder.[4] In 2002 Ross was found guilty and sentenced to death by lethal injection by a jury.[5]
Ross received attention in Sweden after he agreed to be part of a special theme week about the death penalty in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.[6] Aftonbladet covered his case and his last week alive before his execution and reported live from outside the prison on the day of the execution.[7]
Ross left a final statement before being executed which was revealed to Aftonbladet reporter Carina Bergfeldt.[1]
See also
- Capital punishment in Texas
- List of people executed in Texas, 2010–
- Lists of people executed in Texas
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vaughn Ross final statement. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ↑ Cooper, Robbie (2013-07-17) EXECUTION WATCH: Vaughn Ross (TX). UrbanGrounds. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ↑ Lubbock man scheduled to be executed for double murder |myFOXlubbock.com | FOX 34 News Lubbock, Texas. myFOXlubbock.com (2013-07-17). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Vaughn Ross Execution: Ex-grad student set to die for killing 2 in Texas – Crimesider. CBS News (2013-07-13). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ↑ Jury deliberates fate of Ross | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock Online (2002-09-24). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ↑ Om en vecka ska Ross dö | Nyheter | Aftonbladet. Aftonbladet.se (2013-07-11). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ↑ Bergfeldt, Carina (2013-07-18) I dag ska Vaughn Ross dö | En vecka med döden. Bloggar.aftonbladet.se. Retrieved on 2013-07-19. Archived July 21, 2013 at the Wayback Machine
