Houston Ice Pick Killer And Serial Rapist Gets June Execution Date

Danny Bible, a serial murderer and rapist, has been in jail for over 40 years. Now, a judge has set a date for the convicted criminal's execution.

On March 19, a Harris County judge signed a death warrant for Bible. The wheelchair-bound murderer will be put to death on June 27, according to Chron.com.

Josh Reiss, the head of the Post-Conviction Writs Division at the Harris County District Attorney's Office, described the infamous murderer.

"He was the 'Ice Pick Killer.' He was a serial killer. A serial rapist and we're going to pursue justice for these victims," said Reiss, according to ABC 13.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg offered her take on the situation.

"Some criminals' actions are so heinous, they earn the label 'worst of the worst,'" Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Monday, according to Chron.com. "The jury who listened to the facts and saw the evidence of the crimes Danny Bible committed clearly reached that conclusion by sentencing him to death."

Bible's attorney, Margaret Schmucker, was unsurprised by this most recent development.

"It was not an unexpected event today," Schumucker said, according to Chron.com. "I do think it's unfortunate that the state of Texas is going to execute someone who is so little future danger that he can't even get out of a wheelchair."

Bible's known crimes began in 1979, when the body of Inez Deaton was found near the Houston bayou. Deaton had been stabbed with an ice pick 11 times. Deaton's murder remained unsolved for 20 years.

Between the murder and his eventual incarceration, Bible was involved with a handful of violent incidents, including several beatings of a girlfriend in Montana. He eventually returned to Texas, where he murdered his sister-in-law Tracy Powers, her infant son Justin, and a roommate of Powers' named Pam Hudgens.

His killings continued in Montana: Bible raped an 11-year-old girl before murdering her as well. 

Bible was caught in 1984 and pled guilty to the killing of Hudgens, for which he was sentenced to 25 years in prison (and another 20 for an unrelated robbery). He was released on parole 8 years later.

Bible was not reformed by his time in prison and sexually abused five younger relatives, including a five-year-old.

Tera Robinson, a Louisiana woman, would be Bible's next victim. In 1998, Bible broke into her motel room and attempted to rape her. When he could not finish the act, he bound and gagged her. Robinson managed to escape and alert police, but not before Bible fled to Florida.

Bible was caught and brought back to Louisiana, where he confessed to a handful of crimes. Police, however, suspect he may have been involved in much more than he was admitting to.

West Baton Rouge Parish detective Randall Walker reflected on Bible's proclivities.

"There's no telling what we've got here," Walker said, according to Chron.com. "A serial killer can't kill three or four people and then just quit."

In 2003, Bible was sentenced to death.

Curiously, one attempt at putting Bible to death has already been botched. The car driving Bible to his execution in July of 2003 was involved in a crash. Officer John Bennett died in the wreck. Bible recovered for months at a hospital and now requires a wheelchair as a result of the crash. The injuries incurred led to a series of appeals in which lawyers argued that Bible was no longer a danger due to his deteriorated physical condition.

Appeals continued for over a decade, with lawyers arguing the constitutionality of the death penalty and discussing concerns about jury biases. In 2016, Bible's appeals were rejected.

There are currently no pending appeals for Bible.

Three executions have already ocurred in Texas in 2018, and three more executions are currently scheduled.

[Photo: Texas Department of Criminal Justice]