Texas executes Ramiro Gonzales on the birthday of the 18-year-old he raped and killed

A Texas man was executed Wednesday for the murder of an 18-year-old woman who was raped, shot and dumped in a field. In his final words, he apologized to the young woman’s family.

Ramiro Gonzales, 41, died by lethal injection at 6:50 p.m. CT, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said. He was the second inmate executed in the state this year and the eighth in the country.

Gonzales was convicted of raping and murdering 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, who was just taking her first steps in life, working full-time at a resort and impatiently awaiting a response to her application to nursing school.

“I cannot express in words the pain I have caused you, the pain I have taken from you and I cannot give back,” Gonzales said shortly before his final breaths, according to a transcript from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Bridget’s mother, Patricia Townsend, told USA TODAY she will be among those witnessing the execution and it will be a “happy occasion” for her family: “He deserves no mercy.”

Here you can find out everything you need to know about the execution, the case and the victim.

Ramiro Gonzales apologizes to his family and tells the prison director: “I am ready”

The last words Ramiro Gonzales ever spoke were to the Townsend family, apologizing for the pain he had caused them, according to a transcript from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Gonzales told the Townsends that he had spent the time he had on Earth taking responsibility for his actions and trying to “give everything back,” and that he loved the Townsends.

“I never stopped praying for all of you. I never stopped praying that you would forgive me and that one day I would have the opportunity to apologize. I owe my life to all of you and I hope one day you will forgive me,” Gonzales said. “To your whole family: I am sorry.”

He also thanked his family and friends for the support they have given him over the years.

He concluded his last words with the words: “God bless you all. Warden, I am ready.”

Bridget Townsend murdered, remains abandoned

Bridget Townsend was spending the night at her boyfriend Joe Leal’s house when Ramiro Gonzales came knocking. Leal was dealing drugs and Gonzales went to his house to steal cocaine. There he found Bridget alone.

After Gonzales came in and stole some cash, Bridget began calling Leal. Then Gonzales overpowered her, tied her up and drove her to his grandfather’s ranch, where he raped and shot her before disposing of her body in a field, court records show.

When Leal returned home later that evening, Bridget’s truck, purse and keys were still in their usual places, but he couldn’t find them anywhere and called the police.

For nearly two years, no one but Gonzales knew what had happened to Bridget. One day, while serving a life sentence for the rape and kidnapping of another woman, Gonzales decided to confess to Bridget’s murder and led authorities to her remains in a field in Bandera, a small town 40 miles northwest of San Antonio.

Who was Ramiro Gonzales?

Gonzales said a childhood of trauma and neglect helped lead him down a path that ended with Bridget’s murder.

“As a boy, Gonzales endured physical and sexual abuse throughout his childhood, often at the hands of relatives, and was the epitome of an ‘unwanted child,'” clinical psychologist Kate Porterfield says in a pardon video submitted June 4 to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

The death of his beloved aunt, who was killed by a drunk driver, “plunged Ramiro into inconsolable grief at the age of 15” and subsequently triggered a “deep descent into addiction,” his plea for clemency states.

Gonzales was awaiting trial in Bridget’s murder when, according to him, a preacher handed him a Bible and he found God.

He said he became the person he always wanted to be by “following a righteous path and working to improve the lives of those around him” by serving God.

“From the men in his faith group, to those who listen to his sermons, to the correctional officers who stop by his cell for comfort, to his friends and pen pals, Ramiro is a shining example of the redemptive power of God’s grace and the ripple effect that power has throughout the world,” the clemency petition states. “Ramiro helps lead people to God, and through God’s power they are transformed.”

Gonzales has filed a series of appeals in recent weeks, including a plea for clemency, arguing that he is no longer the same troubled 18-year-old he once was and no longer poses a danger to society. He also said he is a changed person who has found God and is “deeply remorseful” for his crimes.

Bridget’s mother rejects apologies and excuses

Patricia Townsend told USA TODAY that Gonzales’ childhood “should have nothing to do with it.”

“I know a lot of people who had a difficult childhood,” she said. “He made his choice.”

Gonzales has tried over the years to express his “deep remorse” to Bridget’s family, an apology her family has rejected.

“She was a wonderful person who loved life and loved people,” Townsend said. “She didn’t deserve what she got.”

She said it took some comfort to learn that Gonzales would leave this world the same day Bridget was born.

“When they told me June 26, I started crying and crying and crying,” she said. “That’s her birthday.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ramiro Gonzales executed on birthday of Texas teenager he raped and killed