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.

A Texas man convicted of fatally strangling and stabbing a young mother more than 20 years ago was executed Wednesday evening as the victim's mother and other relatives looked on.

A Texas man convicted of fatally strangling and stabbing a young mother more than 20 years ago was executed Wednesday evening as the victim's mother and other relatives looked on. Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. He was sentenced to death for his conviction in the March 2004 killing of 20-year-old Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson. After a spiritual adviser prayed over him for about two minutes, Mendoza apologized repeatedly to the victim's two parents and other relatives present, calling to each by name.