David Lee Goff

Case record: David Lee Goff

Background

David Lee Goff was convicted of capital murder for the September 1, 1990, murder of Michael McGuire in Fort Worth.

In November 1984, Goff, then a juvenile, was convicted of two counts of attempted capital murder and sentenced to 15 years confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections. The details of these offenses were:

• Aug. 15, 1984 — Goff and two other youths got a ride from Vaughn Heeren. When Heeren stopped his car to let them out, Goff pointed a .22 caliber Derringer at him. The youths stole his wallet containing $160 and drove his truck to an industrial park in Grand Prairie. Goff instructed Heeren to strip and run. Heeren heard a shot as he ran; thinking the shot did not sound real, he turned around, ran back towards the truck, and was shot in the chest. The youths swerved at him and then drove off. Heeren obtained treatment for a collapsed lung and survived. At the time of trial, Heeren continued to suffer from nightmares about the attack.
• Aug. 16, 1984 — Goff and two other youths violently assaulted Jill Bogan-Tucker in the parking lot of the hotel where she worked. Goff instructed her at gun point to open her car door and get in and then began cussing at her and slapping her. Tucker fought her way out of the car and ran towards the hotel. Goff shot her in the back as she ran, caught up with her, and shot her again under her chin. Tucker managed to run into the hotel while the three assailants fled on foot. At the time of trial, she continued to suffer from extreme headaches and a weak back, and she took medication for pain.

At the time of trial for McGuire’s murder, the separate witnesses at trial testified about these two offenses, and Goff admitted he was the trigger man in both offenses.

Goff served less than five years of the 15-year sentence before being paroled in 1989.

The offence

On Sept. 1, 1990, Goff kidnapped and killed Michael McGuire.

Michael McGuire was kidnapped from the drug rehabilitation center in Fort Worth where he worked, and he was shot after being handcuffed and drugged. His decomposing body was found a few days later by children playing in the woods.

Goff’s accomplice was Craig Ford.

Goff was 21 at the time of the McGuire killing and was on parole after serving less than five years of the 15-year term for his 1984 attempted capital murder convictions.

Investigation

Craig Ford testified that he was waiting in the apartment of Mary Johnson for a ride to his mother’s house when Goff entered and said a ride had arrived.

Ford went outside and saw a dark blue van and a driver he had never met, Michael McGuire. Ford was in the apartment of Mary Johnson; Goff lived with Johnson and was described as 21 years old.

The evidence included testimony that Goff asked Ford’s family friend to burn the van and that Goff returned to the Johnson apartment covered in blood and gave his clothes to Angela to dispose of them. A friend of the Johnson family also testified that Goff tried to get him to burn the van.

Arrest

Police arrested Goff and Craig Edward Ford after the murder.

Craig Ford was arrested and charged with capital murder in the McGuire slaying, but charges were dropped and Ford testified against Goff.

After the suspects underwent polygraph tests, prosecutors decided to offer immunity to Ford in exchange for his testimony against Goff.

Trial

Goff was indicted in Tarrant County.

At trial, Craig Ford testified that:

• He was waiting in the apartment of Mary Johnson for a ride to his mother’s house.
• Goff entered and said a ride had arrived.
• Ford went outside and saw a dark blue van and a driver Ford had never met, Michael McGuire.
• Goff sat in the front passenger seat, and Ford sat in the rear of the van on an old mattress.
• On the way to Ford’s mother’s house, Goff had McGuire stop under an overpass so that he could use the restroom.
• When Goff reentered the van, he pulled a small chrome gun and placed it to McGuire’s head.
• Goff grabbed McGuire out of his seat and threw him down on the mattress in the back of the van, handcuffing his hands behind his back.
• Goff instructed Ford to drive to a dark street.
• Ford exited the freeway onto Wilbarger and heard a single gunshot from the rear of the van.
• Goff instructed Ford to stop along a wooded section of the road and help him remove the body through the rear of the van.
• As Goff dragged McGuire’s body into the woods, Ford began to run down the road back towards the freeway.
• Goff got back into the van and caught up with Ford, ordering him back into the van at gunpoint.
• They drove to a place near the Johnson apartment and abandoned the van after Goff attempted to wipe off his fingerprints.

Trial witnesses included:

• Johnson’s daughter, Angela, who saw Goff enter the apartment covered in blood.
• Ford’s testimony that Goff changed at the apartment and gave his clothes to Angela to dispose of them.
• A friend of the Johnson family who testified that Goff tried to get him to burn the van.
• A neighbor testimony that Goff asked him to burn a van parked nearby and told him not to worry about what was inside the van.
• The daughter of Goff’s girlfriend who testified that Goff returned to the apartment that day with blood on his pants and shirt and that both Goff and Ford paced around the home, looked out the windows, and conversed secretively that evening, after which she contacted police when she heard news reports of the victim’s murder several days later.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani testified that:

• In addition to numerous insect bites, McGuire’s body showed injuries from a single gunshot wound to the left temple.
• McGuire had injuries from being tightly gagged and ligature marks around the neck consistent with the rope found tied to the gag.
• Peerwani believed McGuire was still alive when the rope and gag marks were made.
• Peerwani determined the cause of death as the gunshot wound and estimated that McGuire was dead within five to 10 minutes of being shot.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence.

Goff insisted he was innocent of the death of Michael McGuire and said he was nowhere near the crime scene. He said he was not present when McGuire was abducted and fatally shot.

On appeal, Goff complained about what he said was the incompetence of his court-appointed lawyers, who argued unsuccessfully to jurors there was little evidence and no motive to connect their client to the crime.

Sentencing

Goff was convicted of capital murder.

After a separate hearing on punishment, the jury answered affirmatively the two special punishment phase issues submitted pursuant to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

Based on the jury’s answers, the trial court sentenced Goff to death by lethal injection.

Appeals

Dec. 13, 1990 — Goff was indicted in Tarrant County for capital murder. Nov. 21, 1991 — The jury found him guilty of capital murder. Nov. 25, 1991 — After a separate hearing on punishment, the jury answered affirmatively the two special punishment phase issues submitted pursuant to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, and the trial court sentenced Goff to death by lethal injection. May 22, 1996 — The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction on direct appeal. Oct. 16, 1996 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Goff’s motion for rehearing. April 14, 1997 — The United States Supreme Court denied Goff’s petition for writ of certiorari. Dec. 31, 1997 — Goff filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the 371st District Court of Tarrant County; based on the district court’s findings and conclusions and its own review of the record, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief. Sept. 4, 1998 — Goff filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas; the district court entered a final judgment denying the petition on Jan. 19, 1999. Goff appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; on Sept. 8, 2000, the Court of Appeals denied Goff a certificate of appealability. No petition for writ of certiorari was filed in the United States Supreme Court.

Goff filed a motion in the Fifth Circuit for permission to file a second federal habeas petition and a motion for stay of execution in connection with the successive federal habeas application. In In re: David Lee Goff, the Court of Appeals denied the motions, and the court stated the issues raised had no merit and lacked support in Supreme Court or Fifth Circuit precedent.

Outcome

Goff was executed by lethal injection.

He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. after the lethal drugs began taking effect.

Goff gave a prayer of praise and thanks to God. His remarks included:

“I want to give all the praise to God and glory and thank Him for all that He done for me,”
“With this, let all debts be paid that I owed — real or imagined. The slate is wiped clean, all marks erased. Other than that there is no justice. That's not justice.”

Additional remarks recorded at the execution included:

“Take them down before they take my body,”

After the lethal drugs began flowing, Goff remarked:

“It tastes like rubber.”

Aftermath

Craig Ford was convicted of cocaine possession in 1992 and sentenced to ten years in prison, and he was paroled in 1996.

Goff was executed in Texas.

Goff had complained from death row about what he said was the incompetence of his court-appointed lawyers. He wrote:

“If I, like many other capital sentenced prisoners, are (sic) to be held accountable for the incompetence and simple indifference of court-appointed counsel, where is the justice in that?”

Timeline

• Aug. 15, 1984 — Goff pointed a .22 caliber Derringer at Vaughn Heeren; Heeren was shot in the chest and survived.
• Aug. 16, 1984 — Goff assaulted and shot Jill Bogan-Tucker; she ran into the hotel and survived.
• 1989 — Goff was paroled after serving less than five years of a 15-year term for two counts of attempted capital murder.
• Sept. 1, 1990 — Goff kidnapped and killed Michael McGuire in Fort Worth.
• **Dec.
• Nov. 21, 1991 — The jury found Goff guilty of capital murder.
• Nov. 25, 1991 — Jury answered affirmatively the two special punishment phase issues; Goff was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
• May 22, 1996 — Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction on direct appeal.
• Oct. 16, 1996 — Court of Criminal Appeals denied Goff’s motion for rehearing.
• April 14, 1997 — United States Supreme Court denied Goff’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• Dec. 31, 1997 — Goff filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the 371st District Court of Tarrant County.
• June 1998 — The state habeas petition was denied.
• Sept. 4, 1998 — Goff filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
• Jan. 19, 1999 — The district court entered a final judgment denying Goff’s petition.
• Sept. 8, 2000 — Court of Appeals denied Goff a certificate of appealability.
• **Sept.
• Apr. 25, 2001 — Goff’s execution date was referenced in media advisories and court proceedings in connection with motions for stay and successive habeas review.
• May 25, 2001 — Goff was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

Other details

Goff became the seventh condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 246th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Goff was described as the 26th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 709th overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

The assistant district attorney Richard Alpert made remarks including:

“He was a poster child with his criminal history,”
“He was just a scary individual.”

Alpert also stated:

“There was no need, no reason, why he should have tried to take the lives of the two people... But he did and they were very lucky they lived. That, to me, made him especially vicious.”

At one point, Goff asked the chaplain standing nearby to close his eyes if they remained open:

Seven minutes after the lethal drugs began taking effect, Goff was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. CDT.