On Tuesday, 61-year-old Garcia Glen White was executed at the Texas state penitentiary in Huntsville. White, convicted of the brutal 1989 murders of twin sisters Annette and Bernette Edwards, received a lethal injection of the drug pentobarbital while strapped to a gurney. His execution marks the conclusion of a nearly three-decade legal battle following his 1996 capital murder conviction by a Harris County jury.
Facts of the Case
Between November 29 and December 2, 1989, the bodies of Annette and Bernette Edwards, both 16, and their mother, Bonita Edwards, were discovered in their Houston apartment by Bonita’s boyfriend, King Solomon. After several failed attempts to contact Bonita, Solomon enlisted the help of a maintenance worker to enter the apartment, where he found the victims. Houston Police officers arrived at the scene and discovered Annette lying face down, partially nude, with signs of sexual assault. Bernette was gagged with a towel and had severe stab wounds. Bonita, the girls’ mother, was also found stabbed to death. The crime scene showed no signs of forced entry, but the home had been ransacked, with blood stains in multiple rooms.
The murders went unsolved for nearly six years. In 1995, while investigating an unrelated murder, police received a tip from Tecumseh Manuel, a close associate of Garcia White. Manuel informed officers that White had admitted to the killings. When White was arrested, he initially denied involvement. However, after being shown Manuel’s interview, White confessed to his role in the murders, claiming that he and an accomplice, Terrence Moore, had gone to the Edwards apartment to use drugs and have sex with Bonita. White claimed Moore became angry when Bonita refused to share the drugs and stabbed her. White said Moore then attacked the twins, and he himself assaulted one of the girls.
