Pablo Lucio Vasquez (August 11, 1977
"

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...

. Retrieved on April 10, 2016. April 6, 2016) was an American man convicted of the murder of a 12-year-old boy and executed in the U.S. state of Texas.Last Statement Pablo Vasquez #999297
"

. Retrieved on April 10, 2016. The murder occurred in

Donna, Texas Donna is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Donna is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. The population was 16,797 at the 2020 census. History Donna is in southeastern Hidalgo Count ...

, in the state's

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

region. Due to the way he murdered his victim, Vasquez was called "the

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

killer".

Background

David Cardenas, the victim, was a 12-year-old boy who lived in his sister's residenceFarmer, Liz.
South Texas man set to die said he drank victim’s blood
." ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

''. April 5, 2016. Retrieved on April 10, 2016. in

Alamo, Texas Alamo ( ), located in the Rio Grande Valley is a city in the irrigated area of southern Hidalgo County, Texas, United States in an area of vegetable farming and citrus groves, and is a noted winter resort/retirement town near the Mexico–U.S. ...

.Texas man set to die said he drank 12-year-old victim's blood
"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

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. April 6, 2016. Retrieved on April 10, 2016.

Murder

On April 18, 1998, Vasquez went to a party in Donna, Texas, with his 15-year-old cousin,Webb, Sam.
'Vampire' killer who scalped 12-year-old boy then drank his blood to be executed tomorrow
" '' The Mirror''. April 5, 2016. Retrieved on April 10, 2016. Andres Rafael "Andy" Chapa (born February 7, 1983). During the party he became intoxicated with

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

. At the party he met Cardenas, and while walking from the party to a house, Vasquez hit Cardenas on the head with a pipe and cut the boy's throat. He and Chapa took the body to a field, across a four-lane street, leaving a trail of blood. At the field Vasquez robbed the body of valuables, cut off one arm, severed a portion of another arm, removed skin from Cardenas's back, scalped the body, and drank his blood, before placing the body under pieces of

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

. Vasquez tried to sever the boy's head with a shovel, but failed. Three relatives of Vasquez and Chapa had attempted to conceal the crime.

Aftermath

Vasquez was arrested in

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2024, the population was 114,581. Since 2007, t ...

, after an anonymous tip. When questioned by police he said that the devil told him to remove Cardenas's head. Vasquez's trial began in 1999, and his lawyer was James Keegan; Joseph Orendain was the lead prosecutor. Vasquez was convicted and given a death sentence. Chapa received a 35-year sentence after pleading guilty. The relatives who assisted the perpetrators received fines and/or probation, and one was deported back to Guatemala. Vasquez was received by the

(TDCJ) on March 30, 1999. Initially the men's

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

was at

Ellis Unit O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated area, unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville, Texas, Huntsville. The unit, with about of space,‌ now h ...

, north of

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

, but in mid-1999 it moved to

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, Texas, West Livingston, unincorporated area, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston, Texas, Living ...

near

Livingston, Texas Livingston is a town in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas, United States. With a population of 5,640 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, it is the largest city in Polk County. It is located approximately south of Lufk ...

.First condemned inmates moved to new death row near Livingston
"

at ''

Lubbock Journal-Avalanche ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Lubbock Avalanche'' was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" ...

''. Saturday, June 19, 1999. Retrieved on March 24, 2016. Vasquez's lawyer unsuccessfully argued that he should not be executed as he was mentally ill. Vasquez apologized to the victim's family before he was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...

on April 6, 2016.Texas executes Pablo Lucio Vasquez for killing 12-year-old, drinking blood
"

Al.com This is a list of subsidiaries of the American media company Advance Publications Inc. Local media groups The following subsidiaries are owned through Advance Local Advance Media New York *''The Post-Standard'' (Syracuse, New York) **Syracuse.c ...

. April 7, 2016. Retrieved on April 10, 2016. At the time of his execution, Vasquez was 38 years old, having spent 18 years on Texas's death row. The execution marked the sixth in Texas and the eleventh in the United States in 2016.

References

External links

Pablo Lucio Vasquez - Taped Confession with Police Investigators
(29 minutes) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasquez, Pablo Lucio 1977 births 2016 deaths American male criminals American people executed for murder People convicted of murder by Texas Executed people from Texas People executed by Texas by lethal injection 1998 murders in the United States American murderers of children People from Dawson County, Texas 21st-century executions by Texas 21st-century executions of American people Vampirism (crime)

Background

Murder

Aftermath

See also

References

External links