Michael Sigala

Other details

Michael Adam Sigala was a Hispanic male with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was 5' 5" tall and weighed 213. His education level was 10 years, and his occupation was laborer. He had no prior prison record.

The offence

On August 22, 2000, Sigala unlawfully entered the Plano apartment of Kleber Dos Santos and Lilian Dos Santos. Sigala shot and killed Kleber with a single gunshot to his head. Sigala then tortured Lilian and forced her to remove her clothes and wash herself. Sigala bound Lilian’s hands and neck with telephone cords. While torturing Lilian, Sigala dripped hot wax from a nearby candle onto her labia, whipped her buttocks with a belt or something rod shaped, and cut the inside of her thigh. Sigala masturbated and ejaculated on the floor while torturing her. Sigala shot Lilian in the face and again on the side of her head, causing her death.

After the murders, Sigala ransacked the apartment and took the Santos’ wedding rings and several other items. He wiped his prints off everything and cleaned the carpet where he had masturbated. Sigala also helped himself to a drink and watched television while selectively ransacking the apartment.

Sigala was later arrested after stolen items were recovered from various shops and traced back to him. Police DNA evidence showed an “exact” match to Sigala based on semen discovered on the floor next to the bed. A firearms expert testified that all bullets recovered from the scene were fired from the same weapon.

Sigala confessed to killing Kleber, ejaculating as Lilian lay on the bed, and stealing the couple’s rings. Sigala attempted to blame Lilian’s assault on another, but no evidence connected another perpetrator to the scene.

Sigala was charged with Lilian’s slaying but was not tried for that slaying.

Investigation

Police arrested Sigala about two months later after several stolen items were recovered from various shops and traced back to him. Items from the apartment were found at pawn shops and traced to him, including a camera found at a pawn shop in Arlington.

Authorities also found no evidence that a second attacker was involved. A toxicology report found no illegal drugs in either victim.

Trial

Conviction and sentence

A Collin County jury convicted Sigala of capital murder in October 2001. On October 15, 2001, a Collin County state district court sentenced Sigala to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later affirmed his conviction and sentence.

Jury findings and legal framework

The jury’s answers to the special issues were made pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 37.071, §§ 2(b) and 2(e), and the trial judge sentenced Sigala to death pursuant to § 2(g). The court stated that direct appeal was automatic under § 2(h).

During a one-week post-conviction punishment trial, the jury found that there was a probability that Sigala would commit acts of criminal violence and constitute a continuing threat to society, and that there were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to warrant a sentence of life imprisonment rather than death.

Trial evidence at punishment stage

At the punishment stage of Sigala’s trial, the State presented evidence of Sigala’s lengthy criminal history and drug-related conduct. The evidence included juvenile delinquency, three convictions for theft, a misdemeanor conviction for marijuana possession, an arrest for burglary after a home invasion, and a conviction for robbery.

Over three to four years, Sigala stole videos from retail stores and sold them for drugs and visits to topless bars. The State also presented evidence that Sigala abused drugs and attended drug rehabilitation without success.

Sigala was expelled from high school. He also admitted to one witness that he belonged to a gang.

A mental-health expert testified that Sigala suffered from antisocial personality disorder and could be described as a “sadistic sexual predator.” An FBI agent testified that Sigala was “a member of a unique, particularly vicious subclass of offenders that are dangerous, but also represent a continuing threat to the community.” The FBI agent observed that Sigala had rehearsed the crime, was comfortable at the crime scene, and enjoyed a sense of accomplishment afterwards.

During the trial, the defense unsuccessfully argued for a life prison sentence, including arguments that Sigala’s drug use and poor family life as he was growing up contributed to his criminal activity.

Appeals

Direct appeal to Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

On direct appeal, Sigala raised twenty-one points of error. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment and delivered the opinion on January 14, 2004, in an en banc decision.

The court stated that in October 2001, a jury convicted Sigala of capital murder, and pursuant to the jury’s answers to the special issues, the trial judge sentenced Sigala to death. The appellate court affirmed.

The court overruled Sigala’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s finding that he would be a continuing threat to society.

U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Sigala’s petition for a writ of certiorari on February 22, 2010. It also denied certiorari after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction and sentence, as described in the federal habeas proceedings.

Sentencing

Sigala received a death sentence from a Collin County state district court. The trial judge sentenced Sigala to death on October 15, 2001.

The trial court scheduled Sigala’s execution for Tuesday, March 2, 2010, on September 15, 2009.

Outcome

Sigala was executed by lethal injection in Texas on March 2, 2010.

During his final statement, Sigala asked for forgiveness from the slain couple’s relatives who attended the execution. Sigala said:

“I have no reason for why I did it,” Michael Sigala said. “I don’t understand why I did it. I hope that you can live the rest of your lives without hate.”

He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. CST.

Parents of Kleber Santos and Lilian Dos Santos issued statements that included the following:

“For many people facing such tragedy, life would be worthless. For us, however, we have faith and we find meaning in an eternal life that our merciful God will provide us. We really believe that we will meet our dear son and daughter-in-law one day in heaven,” Jonas and Lizete Santos said.

Appeals and habeas proceedings (federal)

After the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Sigala’s conviction and sentence, Sigala petitioned for a state writ of habeas corpus and later filed for federal habeas corpus relief.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of habeas relief on July 20, 2009. The federal district court denied habeas relief and issued final judgment on March 28, 2008.

The Fifth Circuit described the issues on which a certificate of appealability had been granted, including violations of Sigala’s right to individualized sentencing and ineffective assistance of counsel related to preserving that right and developing and investigating mitigating factors at sentencing. The Fifth Circuit denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

The Fifth Circuit also described that Sigala’s guilt was not at issue and that he was convicted of capital murder for causing the death of Kleber Dos Santos during a home invasion, while also having murdered and sexually tortured Kleber’s wife, Lilian Dos Santos, during the same episode.

The Fifth Circuit stated that the district court denied relief but granted a certificate of appealability on three claims, labeled Claims II, III, and IX, and that the appellate court affirmed the district court’s denial of the petition.

Other details

Victims

The victims were Kleber Dos Santos and Lilian Dos Santos. Kleber was described as 27 or 28 years old, and Lilian was described as 25 or 25 years old.

Co-defendants

Sigala’s accomplice was not charged. Another convict, Adam Lay, was implicated in pawning the stolen items but was not charged in the slayings. Adam Lay received 35 years in prison for violating probation from a previous aggravated robbery conviction and was described as not becoming eligible for parole for another eight years.

Arrest and probation context

Evidence in the materials indicated that Sigala had been on probation for robbery and had been allowed to leave a Dallas-area substance abuse treatment center for the day to look for a job. He was arrested about two months after the murders.

When he was arrested, Sigala was on 10 years probation for a 1999 robbery conviction. He had already spent 30 days in jail and was assigned for a second time to a drug treatment center in Wilmer as part of probation.

The materials also described juvenile history including probation for theft, jail time for marijuana possession, and another jail stint for theft. At age 13, he was arrested for burglary. A year later, he was banned from Plano public school grounds for carrying a gun. Records showed he was an 11th-grade dropout and had worked as a security guard at Lone Star Park.

Execution timing and procedure notes

On February 23, 2010, a Texas Attorney General media advisory stated that Michael Sigala was scheduled for execution after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

A separate report described that Sigala was set for execution Tuesday evening, and that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his case and no new appeals were in the courts at the time described.

Trial procedural history dates included in materials

• 08/22/00 — Sigala killed Kleber and Lilian Dos Santos.
• 10/08/01 — A Collin County jury convicted Sigala of capital murder.
• 10/15/01 — A Collin County state district court officially sentenced Sigala to death.
• 09/19/03 — Sigala filed an original application for a state writ of habeas corpus.
• 01/14/04 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Sigala’s conviction and sentence.
• 06/14/04 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied Sigala’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
• 08/31/05 — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied state habeas relief.
• 08/25/06 — Sigala filed a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus.
• 03/28/08 — A U.S. district court denied habeas relief and issued final judgment.
• 07/20/09 — Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of habeas relief.
• 09/15/09 — The trial court scheduled Sigala’s execution for Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
• 11/05/09 — Sigala filed a petition for certiorari review with the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 02/22/10 — Sigala’s petition for certiorari review was denied by the Supreme Court.

Quotations and cited statements attributed to individuals

Debbie Harrison, a Collin County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said:

“It was pretty sad, especially when you think of your husband being killed in front of you, then you’re dragged off, your clothes taken off, being tied up and who knows what,” Debbie Harrison, a Collin County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said last week.

Debbie Harrison also said:

“So often in criminal cases people will sometimes put themselves in bad circumstances. But this one, these people seemed completely blameless. It was really hard to see their family out there dealing with what went on,” Debbie Harrison, a Collin County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said last week.

Sigala told detectives in a videotaped statement:

“I freaked out,” Michael Sigala told detectives. “I didn’t mean to hurt nobody.”

Jonas and Lizete Santos said:

“For many people facing such tragedy, life would be worthless. For us, however, we have faith and we find meaning in an eternal life that our merciful God will provide us. We really believe that we will meet our dear son and daughter-in-law one day in heaven,” Jonas and Lizete Santos said in their statement.

An FBI agent said Sigala was:

“a member of a unique, particularly vicious subclass of offenders that are dangerous, but also represent a continuing threat to the community.”

Sigala’s mental-health description included the quote that he “could be described as a ‘sadistic sexual predator.’”

U.S. Supreme Court and associated legal citations included in materials

The materials included legal discussion and citations on issues such as change of venue, peremptory challenges, admissibility of statements, photograph evidence, future dangerousness sufficiency, and constitutional challenges to Texas death penalty procedures. The court delivered its opinion on January 14, 2004.