HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening for the brutal 2004 murder of 20-year-old Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson, a young mother from North Texas.
Mendoza was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. His execution was witnessed by the victim’s mother, Pam O’Neil, and other grieving family members.
Before the lethal dose was administered, Mendoza offered an emotional apology, addressing the victim’s parents and relatives by name. “I am sorry for having robbed you of Rachelle’s life,” he said. He also acknowledged the impact on Tolleson’s daughter, who was only six months old at the time and left alone after the murder. “I know nothing I could ever say or do would ever make up for that.”
Speaking briefly in Spanish to his wife, sister, and friends watching from another room, Mendoza said, “I love you, I am with you, I am well and at peace.”
Mendoza gasped and snored as the injection took effect, ceasing movement about 19 minutes later.
Prosecutors said Mendoza abducted Tolleson from her home after a party, leaving her infant daughter alone. He sexually assaulted, strangled, and stabbed her before moving and burning the body in an attempt to destroy evidence. Her body was identified through dental records six days later.
Tolleson’s mother said after witnessing the execution, “He was put to sleep. He felt no pain. I wish I could say the same about my daughter’s death.”
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute appeal to halt the execution, rejecting Mendoza’s claim of ineffective legal representation during earlier stages of the appeals process. His clemency request had also been denied earlier in the week.
Mendoza becomes the third person executed in Texas in 2025 and the 13th in the U.S. this year. Alabama is scheduled to carry out another execution the following day.
