Robert Donald Atworth

Offender

Robert Donald Atworth was executed by lethal injection in Texas on December 14, 1999.

Timeline

• April 2, 1995 — Thomas Carlson was found shot to death between two trash bins behind a health club in Richardson, Texas.
• April 3, 1995 — Atworth was arrested in Garland, Texas, while answering a burglary call.
• 1993 — Atworth was convicted for selling marijuana out of his West Palm Beach condominium.
• 1996 — Atworth was sentenced to death.
• April 1995 — Atworth met Thomas Carlson on the side of a road.
• December 14, 1999 — Atworth was executed by lethal injection in Texas; he was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m., 7 minutes after the lethal drugs began.
• May — Atworth requested that all appeals on his behalf be ended so his lethal injection could take place as soon as possible.
• March — Atworth wrote the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals saying he wanted to waive all appeals.
• May hearing in his trial court — Atworth repeated his request to waive all appeals; psychiatrists appointed by the court determined he was competent to waive his appeals.
• In the mid-1980s — Atworth was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for battery of a police officer when confronted while trying to break into his mother's home.

The offence

Robert Donald Atworth shot and fatally stabbed Thomas Carlson, 56, during a robbery, then severed Carlson’s little finger and stored it in his freezer.

Carlson was found shot in the head, torso and groin, and was also stabbed in the abdomen and chin. His body had been dumped between two trash dumpsters behind a health club in Richardson, Texas. His wallet was missing and his little finger was severed to obtain his ring.

Atworth told police that his alter ego, “Nino,” had killed the 56-year-old man. Speaking as “Nino,” Atworth claimed self-defense and said he tampered with evidence to get caught.

Authorities said Atworth spotted his victim at an intersection and posed as an off-duty police officer while tapping at Mr. Carlson’s car window. Carlson asked Atworth to call his daughter for heart medication, according to court testimony. Carlson was headed to a hospital when Atworth approached him on Campbell Road just west of North Central Expressway.

Authorities believe Carlson was stopped on a freeway service road intersection when Atworth, impersonating a police officer, diverted him behind a health club where the robbery and shooting occurred.

At one point in Atworth’s videotaped statement to police, he began speaking as if in a trance and identified himself as “Nino.”

Investigation

Detective Dan White, who was assigned to the murder case and who would witness the execution, described Atworth’s statements.

Detective White said:

“He said he had fingers in jars all over the country. He said he had a mentor who trained him how to be killer.”

Detective White said of the behavior:

“It was pretty freaky....”

Detective White also said:

“The dual-personality act was unique.”

At the time of police investigation, Carlson’s severed finger was found in Atworth’s freezer. A plastic bag containing Carlson’s finger was found, with the date scribbled on the bag and packed in ice. Police also found the license plates to Carlson’s car and a bag of bloody clothing.

Richardson Detective Dan White said:

“It was more of souvenir for him.”

Ballistics tests showed that one of the guns—a 9mm semiautomatic pistol—was the murder weapon.

Arrest

The day after Thomas Carlson was slain, Garland police arrested Atworth while answering a burglary call in a residential back yard.

When officers found Atworth, he was carrying two guns and had Thomas’s wallet and credit cards. Thomas’s car was parked nearby.

Police said Atworth had gone to the Garland address to kill another man because of a drug deal gone bad.

Trial

Atworth requested that all appeals on his behalf be ended so his lethal injection could take place as soon as possible.

Wayne Huff represented Atworth at trial. Huff said:

“He pretty much sealed his fate before we got appointed,”

Toby Shook, the prosecutor who tried Atworth, said:

“I have worked so hard to move forward, and going down there would be a detour,”

Kris Mosley and Kim Beyer also commented on Atworth’s execution plans.

Sentencing

Atworth was sentenced to death in 1996.

Detective White remembered Atworth’s demeanor:

“He turned around and nodded and winked at me,” the officer said. “I thought, 'Well, Bob, you got what you asked for.' ”

Atworth’s family could not be reached for comment.

Appeals

In March, Atworth wrote the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals saying he wanted to waive all appeals. At a May hearing in his trial court, he repeated his request.

Atworth’s request was granted by an appeals court after two psychiatrists found him competent to waive his appeals.

Atworth requested in May that all appeals on his behalf be ended so his lethal injection could take place as soon as possible.

Outcome

Atworth was executed by lethal injection in Texas on December 14, 1999.

Atworth declined to be interviewed in the weeks preceding his execution date but told his lawyer at a court hearing earlier this year that he didn’t expect to see his 31st birthday.

Toby Shook said:

“He's very different and really quite smart,”

Shook also said:

“He's weird but intelligent, and maybe the fact he's a little more intelligent, he realized this is inevitable anyway so he's going to go ahead and get it over with.”

Strapped to the gurney, Atworth appeared cocky and chuckled as his mother walked into the death house carrying a stuffed toy, Tweety Bird, and waved it at him.

In his final statement, Atworth expressed love to his family and took responsibility for his execution. His last statement was:

“Well, first, My people, you guys have heard everything I needed to say today. I hope I said the right things. I hope you heard me. And I hope you go beyond here and do what you need to do, do the right thing. Strength in numbers. Look out for each other. You still got a chance with Shawn. Edwin you know what you gotta do. You have my love. It's the right thing. And for everybody else, those people who have malice in their heart, allow ambitions to over ride what they know. Be right. Even though they just gotta do their job. For all of you with hatred in their veins, and think this is ashamed. You've done nothing. I did this, I chose this, you've done nothing. Remember this, if all you know is hatred, if all you know is blood love, you'll never be satisfied. For everybody out there that is like that and knows nothing but negative, kiss my proud white Irish ass. I'm ready Warden, send me home.”

Atworth was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m., 7 minutes after the lethal drugs began.

He became the third Texas death row inmate to receive lethal injection within the past 7 days and the 34th this year. Another execution was set for tonight and at least 8 were scheduled for next month.

Other details

Victim and family

Thomas Carlson was a former senior insurance executive who lived with Ms. Mosley in Plano.

Kris Mosley, 36, said:

“I don't want to give him my time, my energy, my thoughts.”

Kim Beyer, 39, added:

“Him dying doesn't help me one bit.”

Kris Mosley said:

“Dad would have wanted me to get past this,”

Kris Mosley said:

“You can survive no matter what tragedy hits your life. There are positives. There are always things to be grateful for.”

Ms. Mosley said Carlson’s family thought he reached a greater peace in the last year of his life, re-examining his faith as if “part of him was getting ready for something.”

Prior history

Atworth served jail time in Florida for violating probation after a 1993 conviction for selling marijuana out of his West Palm Beach condominium.

In the mid-1980s, Atworth was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for battery of a police officer when confronted while trying to break into his mother's home.

Case participants mentioned in the material

Shawn and Edwin were mentioned in Atworth’s last statement.