Texas man executed for woman's murder in 2004

A 41-year-old man has been executed in the US state of Texas for the murder of a young mother more than 20 years ago, the 13th execution in the country this year.

Moises Sandoval Mendoza was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in the city of Huntsville, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.

Mendoza was found guilty of killing 20-year-old Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson in March 2004.

According to court documents, he sexually assaulted her, killed her, then carried her body to a ditch and set it on fire. Her remains were discovered several days later.

Ms Tolleson, the mother of a five-month-old daughter, had known her killer since high school, according to local media.

Mendoza confessed to the murder, but had sought to have the death penalty commuted to life imprisonment. He lost the appeals.

In a final statement shared by Texas officials, Mendoza apologized to Ms Tolleson's loved ones "for having robbed you of Rachelle's life."

"To Avery... I robbed you of a mother. I'm sorry for that," Mendoza said. "I know nothing that I could ever say or do would ever make up for that."

Earlier yesterday, the US Supreme Court also rejected all of Mendoza's appeals to block his execution by lethal injection from proceeding.

Prosecutors say Mendoza, 41, took Ms Tolleson from her north Texas home, leaving her daughter alone.

The baby was found cold and wet but safe the next day by Ms Tolleson's mother.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Mendoza's request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty.

But the Texas Attorney General’s Office told the Supreme Court that Mendoza's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel had previously been found by a lower federal court to be "meritless and insubstantial".

Authorities said that in the days before the killing, Mendoza had attended a party at Ms Tolleson’s home in Farmersville, located about 72km northeast of Dallas.

On the day her body was found, Mendoza told a friend about the killing. The friend called the police, and Mendoza was arrested.

Mendoza confessed to police but could not give detectives a reason for the murder, authorities said.

Mendoza was the third inmate put to death this year in Texas, historically the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.

Alabama planned to execute James Osgood today for the 2010 rape and murder of a woman.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others - California, Oregon and Pennsylvania - have moratoriums in place.

US President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and on his first day in office called for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes."

Attorney General Paxton had supported the execution, reiterating his position in a statement issued after Mendoza was put to death.

"I will always do everything in my power to defend the law and hold criminals accountable," he said.