Leslie Dale Martin
Encyclopedia
Leslie Dale Martin was an American
murderer. He was convicted and later executed for the rape
and murder
of Christina Burgin.
at about 11:00 p.m., after playing pool and drinking beer for about two hours. The victim, a college
student and part-time employee at a pizza outlet, also went to the lounge between 11:00 p.m. and midnight with some of her friends. Martin and the victim met through Roland, who had known the victim previously. During the evening, the victim danced with Martin, while each shared beverages and companionship
with other friends in the lounge.
About 1:30 a.m. the next morning, after Roland and most of the victim's friends had left the lounge, the victim asked Martin for a ride home, and Martin agreed. No one ever saw the victim alive again.
About 7:30 a.m., Martin visited Leo Guimbellot, his carpentry supervisor on a recent job, and stated he had met a blonde college student the night before, left the lounge with her and woke up on Galveston Beach not knowing where he was. Martin's clothes were dirty, and he pointed to vomit in his ashtray, stating, "I guess the bitch threw up in my truck."
When Martin returned to his aunt's home, in DeQuincy, Louisiana, where he was residing at the time, he was wearing different pants than he wore at the time he left the previous evening, and he had no shirt or shoes. He washed his clothes and his truck seat cover, telling his aunt that they got muddy when he engaged in mud slinging with Roland. Martin also had scratches on his chest and back, a bite mark on his shoulder, and a tear under his tongue. He told his cousin he had fought with a "country boy" in the lounge.
The same morning, Martin told Huey Rushing that he thought he may have killed someone the previous evening and asked Rushing to provide him with an alibi
by saying he had spent the night at Rushing's home. Rushing refused, and Martin told him that on the way back to Lake Charles the woman threatened to report him for rape
. Martin talked about a shed in Iowa
, a town in Calcasieu Parish, and related that he had put a rope around the girl's neck, choked her, cut her throat, dug her eyes out, and jumped up and down on a wooden board placed across her neck. In response to a question, Martin asserted that he did not want to be turned in for rape again. In 1984, Martin had raped his own 14-year-old sister at knifepoint while their mother was in the hospital. He was sentenced to 10 years for sexual battery
but served only five.
Rushing related Martin's story to his girlfriend, but they deemed it unreal until Rushing heard nine days later that a girl was missing after leaving the 12th Street Lounge. Rushing reported the story to the police, who found the victim's decomposing body in a search of sheds in the Iowa area. The police found a rope around her neck and a wooden board nearby which contained human blood. The police then obtained a warrant
and arrested defendant.
for first degree murder and brought to trial. At the trial, Rushing, Guimbellot and Roland testified to the facts stated above. Other testimony was provided by inmates with whom defendant was incarcerated after his arrest.
Robert Williamson testified that Martin stated he left the lounge with the victim, drove to a side road past Iowa and had sex with the highly-intoxicated victim. When the victim accused him of taking advantage of her, he feared a return to the penitentiary, and he pulled her from the truck and strangled her, but had difficulty killing her. Martin disclosed that he had revealed the incident to a friend with whom he had "done time", and the friend had betrayed him to the authorities
.
Michael Fontenot, who was also incarcerated with Martin, testified that he stated the victim asked for a ride home from the lounge, and he took her on a dirt road where he had sex with her after removing her tampon which she later reinserted. When she accused him of rape during the ride back, he pulled over near Iowa and strangled her until she passed out. When she resumed breathing, defendant strangled her with a rope and dragged her to a shed, where he left her. His friend told the police "where he put the body and everything".
Marlin Sweet was a cellmate that Martin had known some years earlier. Martin related to Sweet the events of the evening of the murder, stating that he wanted to have sex with the victim, but that she refused because of her menstrual period. Martin said he "had to have her" and "overpowered her", although she resisted and fought back. When the victim became hysterical after the sexual encounter and threatened to go to the police, he decided he was not going back to prison for "nobody". He choked her, first with his hands and then with a rope. She did not die, however, and he put a wooden board across her neck and jumped on it two or three times. Martin then cut out her eyes with a knife so that she could not identify him.
There was little physical evidence presented by the prosecution because of the condition of the body. However, human blood was found on defendant's pants and truck seat cover, as well as on the wooden board recovered near the body.
After the completion of the evidence in the guilt phase of the bifurcated trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty as charged. In the penalty phase, the prosecution relied on the evidence presented in the guilt phase. The defense presented mitigating evidence by a psychiatrist and members of defendant's family. The jury unanimously recommended the death penalty and Martin was later sentenced to the same by the judge.
attempted an escape but were recaptured before being able to flee the prison grounds.
After being overheard planning another escape which involved taking hostages and ramming a car through the prison's main gate, Martin was moved to the Death Watch cell near the execution chamber
, a month before his execution. This was done for security purposes, as the execution building was situated further back from the main gate than the Death Row unit.
at Angola by lethal injection
. His last meal was boiled crawfish, crawfish stew
, a garden salad
with Italian
dressing
, oatmeal cookies
and whole milk with chocolate syrup
. He did not make a statement before his death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
murderer. He was convicted and later executed for the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Christina Burgin.
Crime
On June 20, 1991, Martin and Michael Roland went to the 12th Street Lounge in Lake CharlesLake Charles
Lake Charles may refer to:in Canada*Lake Charles, Nova Scotia, a lake in the Halifax Regional Municipalityin the United States*Lake Charles, Louisiana, a city in the United States*Lake Charles , the lake after which it is named...
at about 11:00 p.m., after playing pool and drinking beer for about two hours. The victim, a college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
student and part-time employee at a pizza outlet, also went to the lounge between 11:00 p.m. and midnight with some of her friends. Martin and the victim met through Roland, who had known the victim previously. During the evening, the victim danced with Martin, while each shared beverages and companionship
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
with other friends in the lounge.
About 1:30 a.m. the next morning, after Roland and most of the victim's friends had left the lounge, the victim asked Martin for a ride home, and Martin agreed. No one ever saw the victim alive again.
About 7:30 a.m., Martin visited Leo Guimbellot, his carpentry supervisor on a recent job, and stated he had met a blonde college student the night before, left the lounge with her and woke up on Galveston Beach not knowing where he was. Martin's clothes were dirty, and he pointed to vomit in his ashtray, stating, "I guess the bitch threw up in my truck."
When Martin returned to his aunt's home, in DeQuincy, Louisiana, where he was residing at the time, he was wearing different pants than he wore at the time he left the previous evening, and he had no shirt or shoes. He washed his clothes and his truck seat cover, telling his aunt that they got muddy when he engaged in mud slinging with Roland. Martin also had scratches on his chest and back, a bite mark on his shoulder, and a tear under his tongue. He told his cousin he had fought with a "country boy" in the lounge.
The same morning, Martin told Huey Rushing that he thought he may have killed someone the previous evening and asked Rushing to provide him with an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
by saying he had spent the night at Rushing's home. Rushing refused, and Martin told him that on the way back to Lake Charles the woman threatened to report him for rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. Martin talked about a shed in Iowa
Iowa, Louisiana
Iowa is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, a town in Calcasieu Parish, and related that he had put a rope around the girl's neck, choked her, cut her throat, dug her eyes out, and jumped up and down on a wooden board placed across her neck. In response to a question, Martin asserted that he did not want to be turned in for rape again. In 1984, Martin had raped his own 14-year-old sister at knifepoint while their mother was in the hospital. He was sentenced to 10 years for sexual battery
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
but served only five.
Rushing related Martin's story to his girlfriend, but they deemed it unreal until Rushing heard nine days later that a girl was missing after leaving the 12th Street Lounge. Rushing reported the story to the police, who found the victim's decomposing body in a search of sheds in the Iowa area. The police found a rope around her neck and a wooden board nearby which contained human blood. The police then obtained a warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
and arrested defendant.
Trial
Martin was indicted by a Grand JuryGrand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
for first degree murder and brought to trial. At the trial, Rushing, Guimbellot and Roland testified to the facts stated above. Other testimony was provided by inmates with whom defendant was incarcerated after his arrest.
Robert Williamson testified that Martin stated he left the lounge with the victim, drove to a side road past Iowa and had sex with the highly-intoxicated victim. When the victim accused him of taking advantage of her, he feared a return to the penitentiary, and he pulled her from the truck and strangled her, but had difficulty killing her. Martin disclosed that he had revealed the incident to a friend with whom he had "done time", and the friend had betrayed him to the authorities
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
.
Michael Fontenot, who was also incarcerated with Martin, testified that he stated the victim asked for a ride home from the lounge, and he took her on a dirt road where he had sex with her after removing her tampon which she later reinserted. When she accused him of rape during the ride back, he pulled over near Iowa and strangled her until she passed out. When she resumed breathing, defendant strangled her with a rope and dragged her to a shed, where he left her. His friend told the police "where he put the body and everything".
Marlin Sweet was a cellmate that Martin had known some years earlier. Martin related to Sweet the events of the evening of the murder, stating that he wanted to have sex with the victim, but that she refused because of her menstrual period. Martin said he "had to have her" and "overpowered her", although she resisted and fought back. When the victim became hysterical after the sexual encounter and threatened to go to the police, he decided he was not going back to prison for "nobody". He choked her, first with his hands and then with a rope. She did not die, however, and he put a wooden board across her neck and jumped on it two or three times. Martin then cut out her eyes with a knife so that she could not identify him.
There was little physical evidence presented by the prosecution because of the condition of the body. However, human blood was found on defendant's pants and truck seat cover, as well as on the wooden board recovered near the body.
After the completion of the evidence in the guilt phase of the bifurcated trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty as charged. In the penalty phase, the prosecution relied on the evidence presented in the guilt phase. The defense presented mitigating evidence by a psychiatrist and members of defendant's family. The jury unanimously recommended the death penalty and Martin was later sentenced to the same by the judge.
Escape Attempts
Martin and three other inmates on death rowDeath row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
attempted an escape but were recaptured before being able to flee the prison grounds.
After being overheard planning another escape which involved taking hostages and ramming a car through the prison's main gate, Martin was moved to the Death Watch cell near the execution chamber
Execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which a legal execution is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed...
, a month before his execution. This was done for security purposes, as the execution building was situated further back from the main gate than the Death Row unit.
Execution
On May 10, 2002, Martin was executed at Louisiana State PenitentiaryLouisiana State Penitentiary
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is a prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is the largest maximum security prison in the United States with 5,000 offenders and 1,800 staff...
at Angola by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. His last meal was boiled crawfish, crawfish stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
, a garden salad
Garden salad
A garden salad is a salad consisting mostly of fresh vegetables. The base for the salad are greens such as lettuce or mesclun....
with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
dressing
Dressing
Dressing may refer to:* Dressing , a medical covering for a wound, usually made of cloth* Ore dressing* Salad dressing, a type of sauce which is generally poured on a salad, or spread on the bread of a sandwich...
, oatmeal cookies
Cookie
In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have...
and whole milk with chocolate syrup
Chocolate syrup
Chocolate syrup is a chocolate flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping for various desserts, such as ice cream or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk.-Basic ingredients:...
. He did not make a statement before his death.
See also
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
- List of individuals executed in Louisiana