Keith Thurmond

Case record: Keith Thurmond

Status / Outcome

Keith Thurmond was sentenced to death on November 14, 2002. He was executed by lethal injection in Texas on March 7, 2012.

Timeline

• 09/25/2001 — Keith Thurmond murdered his estranged wife and her boyfriend in Magnolia, Texas.
• 11/14/2002 — Keith Thurmond was sentenced to death.
• 03/07/2012 — Keith Thurmond was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

Background

Keith Thurmond was 41 at the time of the offence and 43 when he was received. He received an education level of 9.

His prior occupation included work as a master mechanic, air conditioning technician, and laborer. His prior prison record was n/a.

The court and police documents described his relationship with his spouse as tumultuous. In one incident, both were arrested after an all-night drinking bout ended in a quarrel involving an automatic pistol. Incensed that one of Thurmond's friends had photographed the couple after they had passed out following a round of drinking, Sharon Thurmond waved a 9mm automatic at her husband and taunted him to shoot her, a police report said. Thurmond threw his wife to the floor and kicked her after she hit him in the face with the weapon.

In the punishment phase of Thurmond's trial, one of his former girlfriends testified that he raped her after she ended the relationship.

While in jail awaiting his trial, Thurmond violated disciplinary rules by threatening a female officer. The court documents quoted him:

“I can snap her neck,”
and: “What are they going to do, kill me twice?”

The offence

On 09/25/2001 in Magnolia, Thurmond murdered his estranged wife and her boyfriend.

Thurmond’s 8-year-old son watched as his father murdered his mother. The boy told investigators that he saw his father, with the gun, chasing his mother around the yard while Fernandes ran into the mobile home. The boy then said he saw his father shoot his mother “a couple of times and … then ran into Guy’s mobile home with the gun,” according to arrest warrant affidavits. The boy later told investigators he heard several shots and then ran to his father’s home across the street.

After the shootings, Thurmond barricaded himself and his son inside his home. Officers persuaded Thurmond to surrender peacefully after a couple of hours. When he surrendered, he had remained inside the mobile home armed with at least one pistol and another firearm. He later released the boy unharmed.

The boyfriend, Guy Sean Fernandez, was 35 and was shot inside the victim's residence. The wife, Sharon Anne Thurmond, was 32 and was shot outside the residence.

In court and police documents, Thurmond’s actions were described as following deputies arriving to transfer custody of his son to his wife. Thurmond was described as donning a black karate suit, pacing his trailer, brandishing a sword and a pistol, and dismissing advice from a friend and relative that he allow the courts to resolve his domestic problems. The description said he then crossed the street, pumping seven bullets into his wife, Sharon Ann Thurmond, and fatally shooting and beating her lover, Guy Fernandes.

After the shootings, Thurmond returned to the nearby mobile home he shared with his brother and threatened to kill himself. The court documents included the statement:

“I messed up, I messed up!”

Investigation / arrest

Thurmond was apprehended after a two-hour standoff with police, following officers persuading him to surrender peacefully.

Trial / sentencing

Thurmond was convicted in Montgomery County and received a death sentence.

Appeals

The appeals history included a snafu in which his appeals petition arrived in federal court a day past deadline, leading to its rejection. The 5th U.S. Court of Appeals also rejected the appeal, but later reversed its decision.

The appeal that contended defense lawyers were negligent in failing to introduce mitigating evidence that Thurmond had been abused as a child was unsuccessful.

Thurmond’s most recent appeal before the high court contended he had suffered inadequate legal counsel earlier in the appeals process. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal about an hour before the scheduled execution.

Execution

Thurmond protested his innocence and made final remarks before execution. His final statement included:

“All I want to say is I’m innocent. I didn’t kill my wife. I swear to God I didn’t kill her. Go ahead and finish it off. You can taste it.

The lethal drugs were administered at 6:11 p.m. and he was declared dead at 6:22 p.m.

Victims

• Sharon Anne Thurmond — 32-year-old white female.
• Guy Sean Fernandez — 35-year-old white male.

Other details

• Keith Steven Thurmond’s TDCJ Number was 999435.
• Keith Steven Thurmond’s date of birth was 10/31/1959.
• Date of offence: 09/25/2001.
• Date received: 11/14/2002.
• His last meal was listed as: Same shit salad being fed to every other thug on the row that day.
• A legal reference in the case summary stated a United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit opinion 08-70008 and dated September 25, 2001 in Magnolia, Texas, USA.