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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Matthew Dresch

Last words of white supremacist killer given lethal injection for strangling woman

The last words of a white supremacist who strangled a woman to death with electrical cord have been revealed.

Justen Hall killed Melissa Billhartz in 2002 over fears she would tell the police about his drug house.

Speaking from the execution chamber in Huntsville, Texas, Hall apologised to her family, as well as the relatives of Arturo Diaz, who he also killed.

In his last words, Hall announced he was sorry for the 'pain and suffering' he had caused and told his mum he would miss her.

He said : "Yeah I want to address the Rountree family and apologise for the pain and suffering I caused.

Justen Hall was sentenced to death in 2005 (via REUTERS)
The execution unit in Huntsville, Texas (Reuters)

"And to the Diaz's family that I had to put you through this, it should never happened.

"And to my mum and Morelia I love you and I'm going to miss you all. I'm ready."

The murderer's mother and half-sister watched from the witness gallery as Hall spoke for the last time.

He took deep breaths as the cocktail of drugs were administered and was pronounced dead 19 minutes later at 6.32pm local time.

Hall, a regional leader of the Aryan Circle group, was out on bond for the the murder of Arturo Diaz when he killed Billhartz in October 2002.

He later confessed he had killed Diaz, a transgender woman, in April 2002.

Ted Murgatroyd, a recruit of Hall's gang, got into a fight with Billhartz on October 28, 2002, when they were in her truck on a trip to a convenience store in El Paso County.

When the pair returned to the drug house where gang members were gathered, Hall decided to kill Billhartz so she did not report the fight or the drug house to police, according to court documents.

Elaine Rountree, Billhartz's aunt, said Billhartz had been planning to move to New Mexico before her death, CBS News reports.

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