Sean Derrick O'Brien

Case identification

Name: Sean Derrick O'Brien

Status / outcome

Sean Derrick O'Brien was executed by lethal injection in Texas on July 11, 2006.

The offence

On the night of June 24, 1993, O'Brien participated in the initiation of Raul Omar Villareal into a gang called the Black and Whites. Four other gang members—Peter Cantu, Roman Sandoval, Joe Medellin, and Efrain Perez—were present at the initiation, along with Frank Sandoval and Vernancio Medellin, brothers of two of the gang members.

The initiation consisted of Villareal fighting each of the other gang members for several minutes. After the ritual, the gang members drank beer.

At about 11:30 p.m., 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena ran across the gang initiation as they were returning home. The girls were raped and strangled. The girls’ bodies were found on June 28, 1993, close to each other and in an advanced state of decomposition.

Autopsies revealed that both girls died of trauma to the neck consistent with strangulation.

O'Brien and other gang members later boasted that they gang-raped both girls.

In a police statement, O'Brien said that he gave his belt to Joe Medellin, who used it to strangle one of the girls. At Medellin’s instruction, O'Brien grabbed one end of the belt and helped strangle the victim. They pulled so hard that one end of the belt broke off. After the strangling, the killers used other means described in trial and reporting to ensure death, and evidence described included the finding of parts of the belt and other items.

Victims

• Jennifer Ertman, age 14
• Elizabeth Pena, age 16

Investigation and arrest

O'Brien was arrested on June 29, 1993, along with Peter Cantu, Efrain Perez, Jose Medellin and Vernancio Medellin, and Raul Villareal.

When police knocked on O'Brien’s door and announced their presence, O'Brien attempted to run out the back door. He was arrested by officers waiting in back. After he was advised of his rights and informed he was under arrest for capital murder, O'Brien told police that he gave his belt to Joe Medellin, who used it to strangle one of the girls, and that at Medellin’s instruction he helped strangle the victim. O'Brien consented to a search of his apartment, and police found the belt.

In later summaries of the case, the identification of the bodies included anonymous calls and a tip traced to a family connection to one of the gang members, which led police to locate the bodies near T.C. Jester Park and White Oak bayou.

Procedural history and timeline

• February 4, 1994 — O'Brien was indicted by a Harris County grand jury for the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman.
• April 7, 1994 — O'Brien was found guilty by a jury of capital murder.
• April 9, 1994 — Following a separate punishment hearing, O'Brien was sentenced to death.
• May 15, 1996 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed O'Brien’s conviction and sentence.
• January 21, 1997 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied O'Brien’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• August 23, 2001 — O'Brien filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus in the state trial court.
• February 6, 2002 — The Court of Criminal Appeals denied O'Brien’s application for writ of habeas corpus.
• May 16, 2002 — O'Brien filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in a U.S. district court.
• January 14, 2005 — The federal district court dismissed O'Brien’s federal habeas petition and denied a certificate of appealability.
• May 9, 2005 — O'Brien requested permission to appeal from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• December 27, 2005 — The Fifth Circuit Court denied O’Brien’s request to appeal the district court’s denial of his federal habeas petition.
• March 25, 2006 — O'Brien petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. This petition was pending.
• April 26, 2006 — O'Brien asked the Supreme Court for a stay of execution.
• June 5, 2006 — The Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
• May 15, 2006 — O'Brien was granted a temporary stay of execution in response to a last minute writ of habeas corpus.
• May 17, 2006 — O'Brien’s stay of execution was lifted.
• July 11, 2006 — O'Brien was executed by lethal injection.

Trial

O'Brien was tried for capital murder in Harris County, Texas.

During trial proceedings summarized in court records and later appellate descriptions:

• O'Brien was found guilty by a jury of capital murder on April 7, 1994.
• The punishment hearing took place on April 9, 1994, and O'Brien was sentenced to death.

In a subsequent federal appeal denial describing the underlying facts, the jury was found to have found O'Brien guilty based on his participation in the initiation and the rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman following the gang initiation, with additional evidence describing how strangulation was carried out and how O'Brien reported involvement with the belt.

The record also included evidence presented in the penalty phase describing prior arrests and alleged violent incidents, along with testimony about O'Brien’s conduct and affiliations.

Sentencing

After the punishment hearing, O'Brien was sentenced to death on April 9, 1994.

At trial, a jury determined death as the appropriate sentence based on special issues described in later appellate analysis, including a continuing threat determination and determinations regarding causation/intent regarding the murder.

Appeals and post-conviction proceedings

• May 15, 1996 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed conviction and sentence.
• January 21, 1997 — U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• February 6, 2002 — Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas corpus application.
• January 14, 2005 — Federal district court dismissed habeas petition and denied a certificate of appealability.
• December 27, 2005 — Fifth Circuit Court denied O'Brien’s request to appeal.
• March 25, 2006 — U.S. Supreme Court petition for certiorari was filed and was pending.
• June 5, 2006 — Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Execution

O'Brien was executed by lethal injection in Texas on July 11, 2006.

Prior to the execution, reporting described that O'Brien apologized while looking at relatives of his victims and held his head up as he spoke.

O'Brien was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal drugs began.

Other details

Prior arrests

Prior to the capital murder, O'Brien had three prior arrests before committing the murders. The arrests described included shoplifting a pellet pistol, simple assault, and stealing a car.

Additional testimony relating to other allegations described at trial

Additional evidence summarized in later appellate discussion included testimony and evidence about an incident involving Patricia Lopez, age 27, with alleged rape and stabbing reported to have occurred on January 4, 1993. The summaries state that O'Brien was not charged with that homicide in that material but that evidence and testimony linked him to it and was presented in penalty-phase context.

Gang-related testimony

Federal appellate discussion described testimony relating to O'Brien’s tattoos, gang affiliation, and criminal violence history, including evidence that O'Brien belonged to a gang and that tattoos were identified as indicating gang symbols. The materials also described testimony about actions including assaults and other criminal activity used as context in penalty-phase proceedings.

Internet statements

The record included a written statement by O'Brien on an abolition movement topic dated Sept. 2002, including assertions about death row costs and arguments against the death penalty, along with contact and address text included in the material.