Coy Wayne "Elvis" Wesbrook (February 1, 1958[1] – March 9, 2016) was an American mass murderer, convicted for the killing of five people in Channelview, Texas on November 13, 1997. Wesbrook fatally shot his ex-wife, Gloria Jean Coons, her female roommate, and three men during a party at Coons' home in an apparent fit of jealous rage.
On July 5, 1995, Wesbrook and Gloria Jean Coons were married. However, they had already lived together years before their marriage. In November 1997, they divorced, but Wesbrook wanted forgiveness. He attempted to reconcile with Coons by attending the party.[2] At the time of his crime, he had one daughter.[3][4]
Murders
According to Wesbrook, on November 12th, he went to visit his ex-wife, Coons, at her home in Channelview, Texas, in the Greater Houston area. He was invited to a party at Coons' apartment along with other friends, Diana Ruth Money, and three other males. Wesbrook had gone there with hopes of rebuilding the relationship with Coons, but went into a rage when the party's attendees began to mock him because Coons had cheated on him in the bedroom. At some point in the evening, Wesbrook noticed that his ex-wife and two of the men had slipped away, and when he went into the bedroom, he found Coons having sex with both of the men. While they were mocking him Cruz stole his keys and hid them in his pants, preventing him from leaving. He was able to get his keys back and he left. A very short time later he returned in his truck and pulled out his .30-06 hunting rifle and returned to the residence. After bringing the gun into the room, the attendees continued to torment him. Money threw a can of beer at Wesbrook, which discharged the rifle, killing her. After he fired at her, Cruz and Rogers ran toward him and he fired at them too. He then entered the room where Hazlip and Coons were having sex, and fatally shot them both.[2][3]
Witnesses
At about 2 a.m., a neighbor heard the gunfire, grabbed a cell phone, went next door, saw the corpses, and called 911. Wesbrook was arrested at the scene, and it is unknown whether his testimony is accurate or not. There were two witnesses that called 911. The first witness lived upstairs and heard Wesbrook kick open the door and fire off two shots. Knowing exactly what the sound was the neighbor called 911 and while on the line, the dispatcher heard the other three shots ring out.[3][2]
Wesbrook's trial only went on for 11 days before a verdict was reached. At his trial, he admitted to killing the victims, but he claimed that he did not intend to kill anyone, and said that he killed the victims in a fit of rage. On August 13, 1998, Wesbrook was sentenced to death by lethal injection.[4][3]
Despite his low IQ and the disputed testimony of Dr. George Denkowski, Wesbrook was denied another trial in 2007.[7][8] Wesbrook was executed by lethal injection on March 9, 2016, and was pronounced dead at 8:04 p.m.[9][10] Before being executed, he said his last words, which were "I'm sorry I can't bring everybody back. I wish things could have been a lot different".[11]
^"Death Row Information". www.tdcj.texas.gov. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
^ abc"After 17 years on Texas' death row, a man who murdered his ex-wife is 'looking forward' to execution". The National Post. March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
^ abcdMichael H. Stone & Gary Brucato. The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2019), pp. 33-34.
^ abcd"The Victoria Advocate - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
^Turner, Allan (March 8, 2016). "Scheduled to die, killer says he's better than most on death row". Houston Chronicle. from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
^ "Killer of 5 gets another shot to dodge death". Houston Chronicle. April 4, 2012. from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
^ "Updated: Court Orders Review of Death Row Case Involving Reprimanded Psychologist". Texas Tribune. April 4, 2012. from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
^"Texas executes Coy Wesbrook in 1997 shooting rampage that killed 5, including ex-wife". al.com. March 10, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
^ DPIC. "Upcoming Executions". Death Penalty Information Center. from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
^"Last meals and last words of 19 men executed on America's death row this year". NZ Herald. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
External links
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Inmate Information: Coy Wayne Wesbrook
Hoffberger, Chase. "Death Watch: Heat of the Moment Coy Wesbrook's mental deficiencies make his pending execution a "travesty," claims his lawyer." Austin Chronicle. March 4, 2016.
"Death Row Inmate Interview." Texan News Service (Tarleton State University Department of Journalism). February 18, 2016 - Interview of Wesbrook
Legal documents:
"Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas,En Banc. Coy Wayne WESBROOK, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas. No. 73205. Decided: September 20, 2000."
"United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit. Coy Wayne WESBROOK, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Rick THALER, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent-Appellee. No. 08-70024. Decided: October 13, 2009"
"Ex parte Coy Wayne Wesbrook (Other)" - Justia - ( ()
January 23, 2023
wayne, wesbrook, wayne, elvis, wesbrook, february, 1958, march, 2016, american, mass, murderer, convicted, killing, five, people, channelview, texas, november, 1997, wesbrook, fatally, shot, wife, gloria, jean, coons, female, roommate, three, during, party, co. Coy Wayne Elvis Wesbrook February 1 1958 1 March 9 2016 was an American mass murderer convicted for the killing of five people in Channelview Texas on November 13 1997 Wesbrook fatally shot his ex wife Gloria Jean Coons her female roommate and three men during a party at Coons home in an apparent fit of jealous rage Coy Wayne WesbrookBorn 1958 02 01 February 1 1958Houston Texas U S DiedMarch 9 2016 2016 03 09 aged 58 Huntsville Unit Huntsville Texas U S Cause of deathExecution by lethal injectionOther namesElvisCriminal statusExecutedSpouseGloria Jean Coons m 1995 div 1996 wbr MotiveJealousyConviction s Capital murderCriminal penaltyDeath September 2 1998 DetailsDateNovember 13 1997Location s Channelview TexasKilled5Weapons 30 06 hunting rifleWesbrook was sentenced to death in 1998 and was executed by lethal injection in 2016 Contents 1 Marriage and divorce 2 Murders 2 1 Witnesses 3 Victims 4 Trial and conviction 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksMarriage and divorce EditOn July 5 1995 Wesbrook and Gloria Jean Coons were married However they had already lived together years before their marriage In November 1997 they divorced but Wesbrook wanted forgiveness He attempted to reconcile with Coons by attending the party 2 At the time of his crime he had one daughter 3 4 Murders EditAccording to Wesbrook on November 12th he went to visit his ex wife Coons at her home in Channelview Texas in the Greater Houston area He was invited to a party at Coons apartment along with other friends Diana Ruth Money and three other males Wesbrook had gone there with hopes of rebuilding the relationship with Coons but went into a rage when the party s attendees began to mock him because Coons had cheated on him in the bedroom At some point in the evening Wesbrook noticed that his ex wife and two of the men had slipped away and when he went into the bedroom he found Coons having sex with both of the men While they were mocking him Cruz stole his keys and hid them in his pants preventing him from leaving He was able to get his keys back and he left A very short time later he returned in his truck and pulled out his 30 06 hunting rifle and returned to the residence After bringing the gun into the room the attendees continued to torment him Money threw a can of beer at Wesbrook which discharged the rifle killing her After he fired at her Cruz and Rogers ran toward him and he fired at them too He then entered the room where Hazlip and Coons were having sex and fatally shot them both 2 3 Witnesses Edit At about 2 a m a neighbor heard the gunfire grabbed a cell phone went next door saw the corpses and called 911 Wesbrook was arrested at the scene and it is unknown whether his testimony is accurate or not There were two witnesses that called 911 The first witness lived upstairs and heard Wesbrook kick open the door and fire off two shots Knowing exactly what the sound was the neighbor called 911 and while on the line the dispatcher heard the other three shots ring out 3 2 Victims EditGloria Jean Coons 32 Ex wife 5 Antonio Cruz 35 5 Anthony Rogers 41 5 Diana Money 43 5 Kelly Hazlip 38 6 Trial and conviction Edit The Ellis Unit housed the State of Texas death row for men until mid 1999 Allan B Polunsky Unit houses the State of Texas death row for men Huntsville Unit where Wesbrook was put to death Wesbrook s trial only went on for 11 days before a verdict was reached At his trial he admitted to killing the victims but he claimed that he did not intend to kill anyone and said that he killed the victims in a fit of rage On August 13 1998 Wesbrook was sentenced to death by lethal injection 4 3 Despite his low IQ and the disputed testimony of Dr George Denkowski Wesbrook was denied another trial in 2007 7 8 Wesbrook was executed by lethal injection on March 9 2016 and was pronounced dead at 8 04 p m 9 10 Before being executed he said his last words which were I m sorry I can t bring everybody back I wish things could have been a lot different 11 See also EditCapital punishment in Texas List of people executed in Texas 2010 2019 List of people executed in the United States in 2016References Edit Death Row Information www tdcj texas gov Retrieved February 7 2021 a b c After 17 years on Texas death row a man who murdered his ex wife is looking forward to execution The National Post March 8 2016 Retrieved February 7 2021 a b c d Michael H Stone amp Gary Brucato The New Evil Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime Amherst New York Prometheus Books 2019 pp 33 34 a b DEATH COUNTY TEXAS The Missoulian via Newspapers com August 30 1998 Retrieved February 7 2021 a b c d The Victoria Advocate Google News Archive Search news google com Retrieved March 13 2018 Turner Allan March 8 2016 Scheduled to die killer says he s better than most on death row Houston Chronicle Archived from the original on March 11 2016 Retrieved February 7 2021 Killer of 5 gets another shot to dodge death Houston Chronicle April 4 2012 Archived from the original on April 16 2015 Retrieved April 5 2015 Updated Court Orders Review of Death Row Case Involving Reprimanded Psychologist Texas Tribune April 4 2012 Archived from the original on April 17 2015 Retrieved April 5 2015 Texas executes Coy Wesbrook in 1997 shooting rampage that killed 5 including ex wife al com March 10 2016 Retrieved February 7 2021 DPIC Upcoming Executions Death Penalty Information Center Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved March 5 2016 Last meals and last words of 19 men executed on America s death row this year NZ Herald Retrieved February 7 2021 External links EditTexas Department of Criminal Justice Inmate Information Coy Wayne Wesbrook Hoffberger Chase Death Watch Heat of the Moment Coy Wesbrook s mental deficiencies make his pending execution a travesty claims his lawyer Austin Chronicle March 4 2016 Killer of 5 gets another shot to dodge death Associated Press at the Houston Chronicle April 4 2012 Death Row Inmate Interview Texan News Service Tarleton State University Department of Journalism February 18 2016 Interview of WesbrookLegal documents Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas En Banc Coy Wayne WESBROOK Appellant v The STATE of Texas No 73205 Decided September 20 2000 United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit Coy Wayne WESBROOK Petitioner Appellant v Rick THALER Director Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Institutions Division Respondent Appellee No 08 70024 Decided October 13 2009 Ex parte Coy Wayne Wesbrook Other Justia PDF Archive Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Coy Wayne Wesbrook amp oldid 1134518065, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
