Home / Crime and Justice / Survivor Watches Killer of Mother and Brother Executed
Survivor Watches Killer of Mother and Brother Executed
12 Mar
Summary
- Man executed for 2013 murder of girlfriend and her young son.
- Victim's surviving son witnessed the execution.
- Killer repeatedly apologized to victims' families.
Cedric Ricks, 51, was executed on Wednesday evening at the Texas state penitentiary in Huntsville after being convicted of the May 2013 murders of Roxann Sanchez and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa. The killings occurred at their apartment in Bedford, a suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Roxann Sanchez's older son, Marcus Figueroa, who was 12 at the time and survived the attack after being stabbed 25 times and feigning death, was a witness to Ricks' execution. Ricks delivered a final statement expressing repeated apologies to the victims' families, directly addressing Marcus and regretting the loss of his mother and brother.
Prosecutors stated the murders began during an argument, and Ricks fatally stabbed Sanchez and Anthony after the sons intervened. Marcus survived by pretending to be dead until Ricks fled. Ricks was apprehended in Oklahoma.
During his trial, Ricks cited anger issues and claimed self-defense, also apologizing for the killings. A day before the stabbings, he had faced charges for assaulting Sanchez. His final appeals were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his commutation request.
Ricks' execution marks the second in Texas and the sixth in the United States in 2026. Texas leads the nation in executions.
