An inmate made a chilling final statement as he was put to death over the murder of a promising dance student.
It happened nearly two decades after Anthony Sanchez was convicted of murdering Juli Busken, who’d been studying at the University of Oklahoma .
Juli was abducted from a parking lot at her apartment complex in 1996.
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At the time, the 21-year-old had been in her final term at the University of Oklahoma.
Tragically, the promising ballerina’s body was found on December 20 near Lake Stanley Draper, Oklahoma City – devastating her loved ones and those on campus.
During the investigation, police found that the young woman had been bound, raped and shot in the head.
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Years later, Sanchez would be convicted of the horrific killing after his DNA matched sperm found at the crime scene.
At the time, he’d been in prison for a previous burglary conviction when the match was made.
In the lead-up to his execution, Sanchez’s new lawyer, Eric Allen, had requested a stay of execution to review evidence.
However, this was rejected by the Supreme Court with the 44-year-old being put to death on September 21.
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It happened at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, with Sanchez thanking his spiritual advisor and the anti-death penalty group, Death Penalty Action, ahead of his execution.
As he was strapped to the gurney though, the convicted murderer protested his innocence and chillingly, he said: “I’m innocent… I didn’t kill nobody.”
Shortly after this, the lethal drugs were administered, with authorities only stepping into the death chamber to reattach an oxygen monitor that had malfunctioned.
Then at around 10:19 am, the 44-year-old was pronounced dead.
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Speaking from death row earlier this year, Sanchez said: “That is false DNA. That is not my DNA. I’ve been saying that since day one.”
Attorney General Gentner Drummond denies this and in a statement said that there was ‘no conceivable doubt’ that Sanchez was guilty.
Sanchez is the third inmate to be put to death in the state this year, after Oklahoma made U-turn on the death penalty back in 2021.
Topics: Crime, US News, True crime