{"id":141062,"date":"2026-01-28T11:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/141062\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:40:07","slug":"a-texas-man-is-facing-execution-for-fatally-shooting-his-ex-girlfriend-and-her-new-boyfriend-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/141062\/","title":{"rendered":"A Texas man is facing execution for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">HOUSTON \u2013 A Texas man who at one time escaped from custody and was on the run for three days after being sentenced to death for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend nearly 27 years ago was scheduled on Wednesday to be the first person <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/capital-punishment\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">executed in the U.S.<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Charles Victor Thompson was condemned for the April 1998 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39; and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, 30, at her apartment in the Houston suburb of Tomball.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Thompson, 55, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Prosecutors say Thompson and Hayslip had been romantically involved for a year but split after Thompson \u201cbecame increasingly possessive, jealous and abusive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to court records, Hayslip and Cain were dating when Thompson came to Hayslip\u2019s apartment and began arguing with Cain around 3 a.m. the night of the killings. Police were called and told Thompson to leave the apartment complex. Thompson returned three hours later and shot both Hayslip and Cain, who died at the scene. Hayslip died in the hospital a week later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe Hayslip and Cain families have waited over twenty-five years for justice to occur,\u201d prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney\u2019s Office said in court filings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Thompson\u2019s attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, arguing Thompson was not allowed to refute or confront the prosecution&#8217;s evidence that concluded Hayslip died from a gunshot wound to the face. Thompson&#8217;s attorneys have argued Hayslip actually died from flawed medical care she received after the shooting that resulted in severe brain damage sustained from oxygen deprivation following a failed intubation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Thompson\u2019s request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIf he had been able to raise a reasonable doubt as to the cause of Ms. Hayslip\u2019s death, he would not be guilty of capital murder,\u201d Thompson\u2019s attorneys said in court filings with the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Prosecutors said a jury has already rejected the claim and, concluded under state law that Thompson is responsible for Hayslip\u2019s death because it \u201cwould not have occurred but for his conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Hayslip\u2019s family had filed a lawsuit against one of her doctors, alleging medical negligence during her treatment left her brain-dead. A jury in 2002 found in favor of the doctor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Thompson had his death sentence overturned and had a new punishment trial held in November 2005. A jury again ordered him to die by lethal injection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Shortly after being resentenced, Thompson escaped from the Harris County Jail in Houston by walking out the front door virtually unchallenged by deputies. Thompson later told The Associated Press that after meeting with his attorney in a small interview cell, he slipped out of his handcuffs and orange jail jumpsuit and left the room, which was unlocked. Thompson waived an ID badge fashioned out of his prison ID card to get past several deputies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI got to smell the trees, feel the wind in my hair, grass under my feet, see the stars at night. It took me straight back to childhood being outside on a summer night,\u201d Thompson said about his three days on the run during a 2005 interview with the AP. He was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, while trying to arrange for wire transfers of money from overseas so he could make it to Canada.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">If <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/us-executions-2025-upcoming-florida-bf95609117487f4295d0b41e1b268c4a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the execution<\/a> is carried out, Thompson would be the first person put to death this year in the United States. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state, though <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/florida-execution-walls-home-invasion-ecac6cccf5315c4dd5176e4c29b14447\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida had the most executions<\/a> in 2025, with 19.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Follow Juan A. Lozano: <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/juanlozano70\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/x.com\/juanlozano70<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 A Texas man who at one time escaped from custody and was on the run for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[55453,55458,59369,2898,27,29,28,1499],"class_list":["post-141062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-charles-victor-thompson","tag-darren-keith-cain","tag-glenda-dennise-hayslip","tag-juan-a-lozano","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-u-s-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}