Keith Bernard Clay (February 18, 1968 – March 20, 2003) and Shannon Charles Thomas (July 27, 1971 – November 16, 2005) were American murderers who killed a total of four people between December 1993 and January 1994. Thomas was convicted of the

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

, 1993 murders of 32-year-old Roberto Rios and his two children: 10-year-old Maria Rios and her 11-year-old brother, Victor Rios, in their

Baytown, Texas Baytown is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Harris County, Texas, Harris and Chambers County, Texas, Chambers counties. Located in the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, it lies on the nor ...

home. Clay had also been present during the killings and confessed to attacking Roberto. Clay was convicted of the 1994 murder of a gas station clerk, during which Thomas was present. The killing occurred less than two weeks after the Rios family murders. Both were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

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 ...

by the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Crimes

Thomas and Clay's intention on Christmas Eve was to rob 32-year-old Roberto Rios, a small-time

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and

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 ...

dealer, of his drugs and money. In the early afternoon, Rios was duct taped to a chair, severely beaten, tortured with a pair of

shears Shears may refer to: Cutting devices * Scissors, also called shears * Hair-cutting shears * Blade shears, typically used for shearing animals * Grass shears, for lawn trimming * Kitchen shears, scissors used in the kitchen for food preparation * ...

, shot twice in the head, and stabbed in the neck with a

steak knife A steak knife is a sharp table knife designed to efficiently and effectively cut steak. This type of knife comes in a variety of styles and sizes; however, the design often used in a steakhouse typically features a partially serrated blade and w ...

. Thomas then went upstairs to a bedroom where Rios's two children were: 10-year-old Maria Rios and her 11-year-old brother, Victor Rios. He shot them both point-blank in the head through a pillow as they lay on the floor. It appears that the motive for the killings of the children was the elimination of witnesses. Police were unable to solve the crime for over a year until they arrested one of Thomas's friends who gave information that linked Thomas and Clay to the murders. Additionally, a postal worker and friend of the Rios's testified they had seen a "beige-looking, maybe white" car in front of the house. Clay owned a white Cadillac with tinted windows which he reported stolen after the murders.

Trials and appeals

During Thomas's trial, it was revealed that he had also taken part in a robbery on January 4, 1994, where Keith Clay shot Melathethil Tom Varughese, a clerk at a

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...

gas station. Thomas had previous criminal convictions to his name. He was on probation for delivery of a

controlled substance A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Sing ...

and had served time in a

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

boot camp for

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

. After being convicted of the two children's murders, Thomas was

sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. Lead guitarist Miika Tenkula was the band's vocalist for the first album, but du ...

to death by a jury on November 8, 1996. The conviction and sentence were then affirmed by the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges. Article V ...

after an automatic appeal required in all death penalty cases in Texas. An appeal for writ of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

was denied on November 24, 1998, by the Court of Criminal Appeals. Appeals to a

U.S. district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

were also denied and an application for a

certificate of appealability In the most common types of habeas corpus proceedings in the United States federal courts, a certificate of appealability is a legal document that must be issued before a petitioner may appeal from a denial of the writ. The certificate may only be ...

was denied in the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

on October 11, 2004. Thomas did not file a clemency petition with the

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) is a state agency that makes parole and clemency decisions for inmates in Texas prisons. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The BPP was created by constitutional amendment in 1935. It determines wh ...

. Thomas' defense claimed that although the postal worker said that he saw two men at the Rios' home on the day of the murders, it was only under hypnosis that he identified Thomas as one of those men. Thomas continued to contend that he was completely innocent of the murders and that evidence against him was purely circumstantial. PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX

Shannon Charles Thomas,

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 ...

(TDCJ) Death Row#999213, was received by the TDCJ on December 4, 1996. He was held in the death row in the

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 ...

until 1999, when the death row moved to the

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 ...

.Death Row Facts
."

. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.

Executions

Clay was executed on March 20, 2003, for the murder of Melathethil Tom Varughese. Thomas was executed on November 16, 2005. No member of the Rios' family witnessed the execution. Thomas requested that his sister and a friend witness for him. Thomas requested no

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

. In his final statement, Thomas said: : "Yes. Man, I just want you to know how much I love them. I want you to be strong and get through this time. Do not fall back. Keep going forward. Don't let this hinder you. Let everybody know I love them (several names listed), Kevin - as well as everyone else in the family. Tell them that I love them and stay strong. This is kind of hard to put words together; I am nervous and it is hard to put my thoughts together. Sometimes you don't know what to say; I hope these words give you comfort. I don't know what to say. I want you to know I love you; just stay strong and don't give up. Let everybody know I love them…and love is unconditional, as Mama has always told us. I may be gone in the flesh, but I am always with you in spirit. I love you."Last Statement - Shannon Charles Thomas
."

. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. As the drugs started taking effect, Thomas asked, "Is the mic still on?" He was told that it was, but then he lost consciousness. His execution was delayed shortly by a late appeal that was denied by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. He was pronounced dead at 6:52 p.m. CST after being executed by

at the

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 ...

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 ...

. It was the 996th execution in the United States since the ''

Gregg v. Georgia ''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the ...

'' decision in 1976.

References

External links

Media Advisory
from the

Texas Attorney General The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the

Report
from

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) is an organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty in the United States. Founded in 1976 (the same year the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court of the United ...

Offender Information
from

! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in Texas , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in Texas , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Keith and Shannon Thomas 1968 births 1971 births 2003 deaths 2005 deaths American murderers of children 21st-century executions of American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century executions by Texas American people executed for murder Murderer duos Executed African-American people Criminals from Houston People executed by Texas by lethal injection People convicted of murder by Texas

Crimes

Trials and appeals

Executions

See also

References

External links