Chester Wicker was executed by the State of Texas for the kidnapping and murder of a college student. According to court documents Chester Wicker would kidnap the 22 year old college student, Suzanne Knuth who he later tried to sexually assault before she was strangled and buried alive. Chester Wicker would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Chester Wicker would be executed by lethal injection on August 26, 1986
Chester Wicker More News
Chester Lee Wicker flew into a rage hours before his execution, then quietly went to his death by injection Tuesday for choking and burying a college student alive on an isolated beach in 1980.
The lethal dose of drugs was administered at 12:10 a.m., and Wicker was pronounced dead 10 minutes later.
His only words while strapped to a gurney for the execution were, ”I love you,” spoken to Judith Lamblion, his only personal witness whom prison officials described as a spiritual adviser.
He was the third person put to death in a week in Texas and the 18th since the state resumed executions in 1982. Texas leads the nation in executions since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on the death penalty in 1976. His was the 65th execution in the nation since capital punishment was resumed.
Wicker, who would have turned 38 Thursday, was convicted of kidnaping and murdering Suzanne C. Knuth, 22, a part-time librarian and student at Lamar University in Beaumont. Wicker choked Knuth and buried her alive April 4, 1980, on an isolated peninsula east of Galveston.
Grains of sand were found in Knuth`s lungs.
Wicker`s quiet demeanor on the gurney contrasted to his behavior Monday afternoon.
Prison officials reported that Wicker flew into a rage in his Death Row cell after spending five hours with his mother, grandfather and Lamblion.
When Wicker was returned to his cell from the visit, he threw his electric fan on the floor and stomped on his bag of belongings. Officials said they were unsure what triggered the outburst.
He then calmed down, and Monday evening said, ”OK, I am ready,” after hearing the Supreme Court had rejected his request for an appeal.
He ate a last meal of lettuce, tomatoes and two cartons of milk.
In their unsuccessful appeal for a Supreme Court stay, Wicker`s lawyers argued the state`s death penalty law should be struck down because people convicted of murdering whites are executed more often than those found guilty of killing blacks. Wicker and Knuth were white.
Wicker was arrested 17 days after the murder and led police to the shallow grave where Knuth was buried.
Before murdering Knuth, Wicker was convicted of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1971, but was paroled after serving less than two years. Eight days after his parole, he was arrested in Galveston and charged with aggravated assault and attempted rape. He was sent back to the state prison in 1973 on a seven-year sentence.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-08-27-8603040053-story.html
