Death Row Inmate Mouthed a 2-Word Message to His Victims’ Families in Final Moments Before His Execution

Mar. 15, 2025

The Huntsville Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas, is seen on September 14, 2024.Photo:FRANCOIS PICARD/AFP via Getty

FRANCOIS PICARD/AFP via Getty

A man — who was convicted in Texas of a double homicide and admitted to killing two others — sought penance before his execution, according to multiple sources.

Richard Lee Tabler, 46, addressed the family members of those he killed moments before he was set to receive the lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 13, according toAssociated Press.

“No amount of my apologies will ever return them to you,” he added.

Richard Lee Tabler.Texas Department of Criminal Justice/AP

Texas Department of Criminal Justice/AP

After he was given the lethal injection, he mouthed one more “I’m sorry,” per the AP. He was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m., according to the Texas General Attorney’s Office.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Tabler was arrested in November 2024 in connection to the deaths of two men, Mohamed-Amine Rahmouni and Haitham Zayed, and was later found guilty of capital murder in relation to their deaths in April 2007, according to astatementfrom the A.G.’s office.

Rahmouni was the owner of a strip club where Tabler previously worked before he was banned, and Zayed was a friend of Rahmouni’s, per the AP. The other two women that Tabler confessed to killing were teenagers who worked at the club, Tiffany Dotson, 18, and Amanda Benefield, 16, per the outlet.

Tabler’s sentence was upheld in every court that reviewed the case, the A.G.’s office said. He had also asked that his appeals be dropped and that he be put to death, though he had gone back and forth on the decision multiple times, the AP reported.

“More than twenty years after his violent murder spree during Thanksgiving weekend, Richard Lee Tabler has been held accountable for his heinous actions,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.

source: people.com