"Aggie Killer" put to death
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A former Texas A&M University student was executed by injection Wednesday for killing a fellow student during a burglary at her home eight years ago.
Ron Shamburger, 30, apologized and asked for forgiveness from Lori Baker's family before the lethal drugs were administered.
While on death row, Shamburger said he couldn't explain his crimes. "One thing leads to another ... You lose touch with reality. You've chosen to do things that are wrong.
"There was an adrenaline rush to it -- the satisfaction of not being caught."
In his fifth year at the university in College Station, Shamburger made numerous home break-ins in which he stole credit cards and cash. He bought the murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol, with a credit card stolen from Baker's home days before the fatal shooting.
On the night of September 30, 1994, he broke into Baker's home as she slept, bound her with duct tape then fatally shot her in the head.
Baker's roommate confronted Shamburger, who then abducted her, stuffed her into his car trunk, and drove around town before returning to the women's home.
He then poured gasoline in Baker's room and set it ablaze. The roommate escaped the car trunk and had neighbors call for help. Shamburger turned himself in to police hours later.
Shamburger was the 26th Texas inmate executed this year.
|