Leesa Marie Gray Murder: How Did Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. Executed? – Lethal injection was used in Mississippi to execute Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., a former Marine Corps recruiter who was found guilty of sexually abusing and killing a 16-year-old girl in 2000.
The second prisoner to be executed in the state in ten years was Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., 58, who had been on death row since his conviction in 2001. At the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, he received a fatal injection.
Leesa Marie Gray, a high school student who worked as a waitress at her uncle’s restaurant in northeast Mississippi, was killed by Loden in the summer of 2000 following a four-hour assault on her. If you want to know more about Leesa Marie Gray’s deatha nd how did her killer Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. executed, keep reading.
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How did Leesa Marie Gray Die?
On June 22, 2000, a 16-year-old girl named Leesa Marie was abducted from the road, sexually assaulted, and strangled to death in Itawamba County, northern Mississippi. Leesa used to enjoy singing in the school chorus, participating in her church youth group, and quietly standing up for teenagers who were being tormented by their peers, according to her family and friends.
After she passed away, her family went through a very trying time because they found it extremely difficult to deal with losing their cherished daughter at the ripe old age of 16. The person who was most touched by Leesa Marie’s premature passing was her mother, Wanda Farris.
Who Killed Leesa Marie Gray?
Leesa Marie Gray, 16, was pushed into Thomas Edwin Loden’s van after she had a flat tyre, and the 58-year-old ex-Marine admitted to killing her, raping her, and committing four counts of sexual battery on her. In 2001, he was sentenced to death. According to court documents, on June 22, 2000, the young girl worked as a waitress at her uncle’s restaurant in northeast Mississippi. When Loden abruptly stopped her at 10.45 p.m., she had already left for the evening after getting a flat tyre and began conversing with her. “Avoid worrying. As a Marine, I. He stated, “We do such stuff.
After almost four hours of sexual assault on the 16-year-old, Loden strangled Leesa to death, admitting this to the investigators later. According to court records, Loden was discovered the following afternoon, on June 23, 2000, laying by the side of a road with self-inflicted wounds and the words “I’m sorry” etched into his chest.
How Did Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. Executed?
Just prior to the lethal injection, Thomas was said to have been “very repentant” of his behaviour, according to accounts.
Around 4 o’clock, Thomas enjoyed his last dinner, which included two bone-in fried pork chops, a Pillsbury Grand biscuit with butter and molasses, fried okra, a butter-baked sweet potato, peach cobbler with French vanilla ice cream, and Lipton sweet tea.
At 6:12 p.m., he was pronounced dead. Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at local time, by Heather Burton, coroner for Sunflower County. He was the state’s second prisoner to be put to death in the last ten years. The victim’s mother, Wanda Farris, was also present for the execution of murderer Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
During his execution, Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., who appeared to be feeling regret, expressed his regret to the victim’s family by saying:
“For the past 20 years, I’ve tried to do a good deed every single day to make up for the life I took from this world. If today brings you nothing else, I hope you get peace and closure.”
The mother of Gray, Wanda Farris, told the New York Post that even though she supported the death penalty, she had long since forgiven Loden for killing her daughter. According to Farris, who called her daughter a “happy-go-lucky kid,”
“I don’t particularly want to see somebody die. But I do believe in the death penalty. … I do believe in justice.”
She continued by saying that her kid constantly beamed and wanted to work in elementary schools.
