Erica Sheppard Women On Death Row

Erica Sheppard has been on Texas death row for a long time. During the early 1990’s Erica Sheppard and her boyfriend saw the victim walking to her car carrying a bundle of clothes. The two would force her into her vehicle and they were then driven back to the victims apartment where she was brutally killed. Sheppard and James Dickerson would be convicted of robbery, kidnapping and murder. James Dickerson would die on death row from Aids and Sheppard remains on Texas death row

Erica Sheppard 2021 Information

Name	Sheppard, Erica Yvonne
TDCJ Number	999144
Date of Birth	09/01/1973
Date Received	04/25/1995
Age (when Received)	21
Education Level (Highest Grade Completed)	12
Date of Offense	06/30/1993
	Age (at the time of Offense)	19
	County	Harris
	Race	Black
	Gender	Female
	Hair Color	Black
	Height (in Feet and Inches)	5′6″
	Weight (in Pounds)	281
	Eye Color	Brown
	Native County	Matagorda
	Native State	Texas

SID Number:    04598986

TDCJ Number:    00999144

Name:    SHEPPARD,ERICA YVONNE

Race:    B

Gender:    F

Age:    48

Maximum Sentence Date:    DEATH ROW       

Current Facility:    MOUNTAIN VIEW

Projected Release Date:    DEATH ROW

Parole Eligibility Date:    DEATH ROW

Inmate Visitation Eligible:    YES

Erica Sheppard Other News

Erica Sheppard was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death on March 3, 1995, for murdering Marilyn Sage Meagher during the course of robbing Meagher. On June 30, 1993, Meagher’s daughter discovered her mother’s body in a spare bedroom of an apartment she shared with her mother in Houston, Texas. 20 Tr. at 18-19, 39-42.¹ When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Meagher’s body under a pile of bed linens, with a plastic dry cleaning bag wrapped around her head. There were three knives and a broken statue nearby. Id. at 95-102. Police recovered a finger and palm print, subsequently matched to Sheppard’s left hand, from the door leading to the spare bedroom. Id. at 197-206.

An autopsy revealed a number of stab wounds on Meagher’s body, several of them very deep. 21 Tr. at 177-78, 185-87. Injuries to Meagher’s head were consistent with a statue being slammed into her head with “a great deal of force.” Id. at 187.

The day after the murder, Korey Jordan contacted the police. 20 Tr. at 114. Jordan was friends with Sheppard’s brother, Jonathan. He was at Jonathan’s apartment in the same complex as Meagher’s the day before the murder. There, he heard Sheppard and James Dickerson talk about robbing or carjacking someone. 21 Tr. at 90-98.

Jordan testified that, when Dickerson complained that he needed money, Sheppard replied “let’s go back to the old theme.” Id. at 96. Dickerson stated: “If taking a life is what I have to do to get some money, then that’s what I have to do.” Sheppard responded that she’d “rather catch a. . . skinny white woman walking between her car and her apartment with no children.” Id. at 98-99. Dickerson got two knives from Jonathan’s kitchen, one of which looked like a knife recovered from the crime scene, and talked to Erica about the best clothes to wear for committing the crime. Id. at 99-101. They left Jonathan’s apartment wearing dark clothes. Id. at 101-02.

The day after the murder, police found Meagher’s vehicle in Bay City, Texas. 20 Tr. at 117. A witness testified that he saw both Sheppard and Dickerson use the vehicle on the same evening that Meagher’s body was found. 21 Tr. at 12-17. Police recovered Dickerson’s fingerprint from the vehicle. 20 Tr. at 177-78.

The following day, police arrested Sheppard and Dickerson in a motel room in Bay City. 21 Tr. at 39-42. They recovered a knife similar to one found near Meagher’s body from a drawer containing women’s clothing in the motel room. Id. at 46-47. Sheppard subsequently confessed to the murder. Id. at 142-43.

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