‘Railroad Killer’ Receives Death Penalty for Doctor’s Murder

HOUSTON —  The admitted railroad killer who made the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List was sentenced to death Monday for killing a Houston-area doctor, one of nine murders he was accused of committing.

The jury that convicted Angel Maturino Resendiz of capital murder last week met for just less than two hours before deciding on the death sentence. The panel could have sentenced the Mexican drifter to life in prison. He had asked for the death penalty.

Before state District Judge Bill Harmon imposed the sentence, he asked Maturino Resendiz if he had anything to say.

“That police officer lied under oath, and I don’t think that it’s right,” Maturino Resendiz said, pointing to Texas Ranger Sgt. Drew Carter. “He lied under oath.”

Maturino Resendiz surrendered to Carter on the American side of the border with Mexico after the officer brokered a deal with the suspect’s sister. The defense said the family was misled to believe that if Maturino Resendiz surrendered, he would not be subject to the death penalty.

Harmon ignored the comment and told him an appeal of his death sentence was automatic.

The drifter has acknowledged committing the murders. He sought capital punishment over the objections of his attorneys, who argued that their client is insane.

On Thursday, the jury rejected the insanity plea and convicted Maturino Resendiz of capital murder in the death of Claudia Benton, who was attacked and bludgeoned in her home just before Christmas 1998.