Texas death row inmate uses final statement before execution to speak directly to victims' family

A Texas death row inmate who killed his ex-girlfriend and her 8-year-old son used his final moments before execution Wednesday to apologize to the woman’s surviving son — whom he stabbed 25 times during the 2013 attack.

Cedric Ricks, 51, addressed seven relatives of his victims who watched from behind a glass window inside the Huntsville Unit prison and said he was sorry for "taking Roxann and Anthony away from y’all," adding that he hoped they could one day find forgiveness.

Ricks was convicted of capital murder in 2014 for killing Roxann Sanchez, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa, by stabbing them multiple times with a kitchen knife during an argument at Sanchez’s apartment in Bedford, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, in May 2013.

"I can't imagine the pain it has caused you. I'm glad I am able to speak to tell y'all that face-to-face," Ricks said. "I just hope one day you can find forgiveness in your heart, so you don't have to live with the pain anymore."

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Marcus Figueroa, who survived the attack as a 12-year-old boy, showed no visible emotion as he watched from just steps away from the gurney. Scars were visible on the back of his neck above his shirt collar — remnants of the stabbing that nearly killed him.

"And to Marcus, I always thought about you, and I'm sorry that I took your mom and your brother away," Ricks said. "I hate that you had to experience that... I'm truly sorry for what I've done."

"I hope to find Roxann and Anthony in Heaven, and I can tell them I'm sorry face to face… I hope y'all go in peace," he added.

Ricks was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT after receiving a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

According to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez were arguing when her two sons attempted to intervene. Ricks grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Sanchez multiple times before turning the weapon on the boys.

Marcus Figueroa was stabbed 25 times but survived after pretending to be dead until Ricks left the apartment. 

Ricks did not harm his own then-9-month-old son, Isaiah, according to court records cited by The Associated Press.

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Sanchez died from stab wounds to the neck, blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxia, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Ricks fled in Sanchez’s car and called family members to confess to the killings. Authorities traced his cellphone and arrested him in Garvin County, Oklahoma, and he was extradited back to Texas. 

At trial, Ricks acknowledged he struggled with anger and claimed he had been defending himself after the boys came to their mother’s aid, according to the AP. He had appeared in court the day before the killings on a prior assault charge involving Sanchez, the outlet reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ricks’ final appeal Wednesday without comment. His attorneys had argued prosecutors improperly struck potential jurors based on race, but the Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records showed the jury selection decisions were race-neutral and had already been upheld by lower courts.

Earlier in the week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks’ request for clemency or a temporary reprieve.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.