Texas Department of Criminal Justice
450 Offenders are Currently on Death Row
Hitman set to die for plot that killed toddler and parents -
20th execution for Texas in 2003 Excerpt:HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Convicted hitman Allen Wayne Janecka once said the way he dealt with life on death row was to take it one day at a time.
More than 22 years after he arrived on death row, this could be his last day.
Janecka, 53, faced lethal injection Thursday evening for fatally shooting Kevin Wanstrath, a 14-month-old Houston boy, in the child's crib more than 24 years ago in a murder-for-hire scheme that also claimed the lives of the toddler's parents and, in an earlier murder plot, the child's grandmother.
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07-24-2003
Hitman set to die for plot that killed toddler and parents -
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Yeah, that kind of throws a monkey wrench into that theory. I hope the guy that filed that report is selling newspapers on a street corner now.
Hit man executed for 1975 plot that killed toddler, parents07/25/2003
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A convicted hit man was executed Thursday evening for fatally shooting a 14-month-old Houston boy in his crib more than 24 years ago as part of a murder-for-hire scheme that also left the child's parents shot dead.
Allen Wayne Janecka, 53, also was blamed for strangling the toddler's grandmother in 1975 in a plot orchestrated by the woman's son, Markham Duff-Smith.
In each case, Duff-Smith, who was executed more than 10 years ago for paying Janecka to kill his adopted mother, was trying to eliminate relatives so he could collect an inheritance.
In a brief statement, Janecka expressed love to his family and thanked prison chaplains "who have brought me a long way."
"For many years, I've done things my way, which has caused a lot of pain to me, my family and others," he said, his voice shaking. "I have come to realize that for peace and happiness, one has to do things God's way."
He concluded his statement with a prayer: "Lord into your hands I commit my spirit thy will be done."
Also Online
Texas Executions: Coverage from TXCN.com Offender profile: Hilton Crawford Related links Texas Department of Criminal Justice Scheduled executions Offenders on death row As the drugs began taking effect, he gasped three times before slipping into unconsciousness. He was pronounced dead seven minutes later at 6:21 p.m.
Janecka was the 20th Texas inmate executed this year and the second in as many nights.
"I never thought in July 1979 that I would still be involved in the same case," Johnny Bonds, the Houston detective credited with cracking the complicated case, said this week. "I'll be glad it's over with."
In late appeals rejected Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Supreme Court, Janecka challenged ballistics evidence in his case, contending the Houston police crime lab – now subject of investigations for its testing of DNA evidence – also could have botched his evidence. No DNA evidence, however, was involved in Janecka's case.
Duff-Smith inherited and then squandered a $90,000 inheritance from his mother, Gertrude Duff-Smith Zabolio, 57, who was strangled by Janecka at her home in Houston's exclusive River Oaks neighborhood. Four years later, he again sought Janecka to kill his adoptive sister, Diana Wanstrath, 36; her husband, John, 35; and their 14-month-old son, Kevin, so he could collect up to $500,000 of their inheritance.
"He just had no regard for people other than himself," Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, who prosecuted Janecka, said this week.
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/072503dntexexecution.5ca53.html
