Stephen McCoy

Case record: Stephen McCoy

Status and last statement

Stephen A. McCoy was executed by lethal injection in Texas on May 24, 1989. He declined to make a last statement.

Timeline

• Jan. 1, 1981 — Cynthia Darlene Johnson, 18, was abducted, raped, and killed after her car broke down on the Gulf Freeway.
• May 24, 1989 — Stephen A. McCoy was executed at the Walls Unit of the State Department of Corrections at 12:25 A.M.
• Late Tuesday (before May 24, 1989 execution) — His final appeal was rejected by the United States Supreme Court.
• 1976 — The Supreme Court ruling in 1976 that allowed states to resume capital punishment was referenced in the reporting.

Background

Stephen A. McCoy was 40 years old. His education level was Some college.

The offence

To fulfill a blood oath to one another, McCoy and two other men abducted, raped, and killed Cynthia Darlene Johnson, 18, a stranded motorist on the Gulf Freeway on Jan. 1, 1981.

According to trial testimony, McCoy and two other men abducted Cynthia Johnson as she was returning home from a New Year's Eve party on Jan. 1, 1981. McCoy raped her. He held her legs down while James Paster and Gary LeBlanc strangled her with an electrical cord.

At the same case, evidence introduced at the punishment phase of James Emery Paster’s trial described that the men sought multiple killings and that the group committed additional sexual assault and killing.

In mid-November 1980, the trio forced Diana Trevino Oliver into their car, took her to a field, raped her, and then McCoy stabbed her to death.

On December 31, 1980, the trio found Cynthia Johnson stranded on the side of the road. They took her to a warehouse, raped her, and after LeBlanc unsuccessfully attempted to strangle her, Paster strangled her to death and drove a nail up her nose.

Investigation and evidentiary details

At the punishment phase of Paster’s trial, Gary LeBlanc testified verbatim:

"[Paster] said that we was all in it together and somebody was going to have to do another killing. All of us were going to have to do another killing.... He said that was [so] nobody can testify against somebody else."

People involved

• Stephen A. McCoy — Offender; convicted in the slaying of Cynthia Johnson; executed May 24, 1989.
• Cynthia Darlene Johnson — Victim; 18 years old; abducted, raped, and killed.
• James Emery Paster — Co-defendant; received a life term but was executed for another murder; described in evidentiary details about the group’s plan and killings.
• Gary LeBlanc — Accomplice; testified for the state; received a 35-year prison sentence; involved in evidence at the punishment phase; unsuccessfully attempted to strangle Cynthia Johnson.
• George Lambright — Prosecutor; gave a statement quoted at sentencing.
• Diana Trevino Oliver — Victim; forced into the car, raped, and killed by being stabbed by McCoy.
• Robert Edward Howard — Victim mentioned in Paster’s case; Paster, McCoy, and LeBlanc agreed to kill him; he was shot in the back of the head after tire slitting.
• Howard’s ex-wife and her current husband — Named as sources of the suggestion to kill Robert Edward Howard.
• Legal Tender Club — Location where Howard was expected to be.
• Gulf Freeway — Location where Cynthia Johnson was stranded and later abducted.

Related murder-for-hire agreement and conduct (as described in evidence about Paster)

In October 1980, Paster and two accomplices, Stephen McCoy and Gary LeBlanc, agreed to kill Robert Edward Howard at the suggestion of Howard’s ex-wife and her current husband. Paster sought and was promised $1,000 for the slaying.

On October 25, Paster, McCoy and LeBlanc were told that Howard would be at the Legal Tender Club. They went to the parking lot, slit Howard’s truck tire, and waited for him to leave the club. When Howard noticed the flat tire, he opened his hood to get the jack. Paster approached from Howard’s rear and shot him in the back of the head.

The group also sought out additional killings. According to the evidence introduced at the punishment phase of Paster’s trial, LeBlanc testified to Paster’s statement that the men were all in it together and that another killing was needed so that nobody could testify against somebody else.

Trial and sentencing

Stephen A. McCoy was convicted in the slaying of Cynthia Johnson, 18 years old, who was abducted as she was returning home from a New Year's Eve party on Jan. 1, 1981. McCoy’s final appeal was rejected by the United States Supreme Court late Tuesday before his execution.

The prosecutor, George Lambright, was quoted:

''The death penalty was made for people like Stephen Albert McCoy to protect society from people like him and from people like James Paster,'' said the prosecutor, George Lambright. ''It was the cold-bloodedness of the acts.''

McCoy insisted he was in another room when the woman was slain. In an interview from death row, McCoy was quoted:

''I knew what was going on,'' he said in an interview from death row. ''I just couldn't do anything about it.''

Appeals

Stephen McCoy’s final appeal was rejected by the United States Supreme Court late Tuesday, and the denial of a stay by a 5-to-4 vote was described as without comment. McCoy was executed after that rejection.

Co-defendant outcomes and related events

• James Emery Paster received a life sentence for the killing in Cynthia Johnson’s case, but he was executed for another murder.
• Mr. Paster, awaiting death for another slaying, was caught with another death row inmate in an unsuccessful escape attempt described as occurring last month before May 24, 1989.
• Gary LeBlanc testified for the state and received a 35-year prison sentence.

Execution details and reported placement

Stephen McCoy was executed at 12:25 A.M. at the Walls Unit of the State Department of Corrections. The execution was described as the 31st Texas convict and the 110th in the nation executed since the Supreme Court ruling in 1976 that allowed states to resume capital punishment.