Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña
| Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña | |
|---|---|
Elizabeth Peña (left) and Jennifer Ertman (right) | |
| Location | Oak Forest, Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Date | June 24, 1993 |
Attack type | Double-murder, child murder, gang rape, child rape, torture murder, kidnapping |
| Weapons | Ligatures, belt |
| Victims | Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña |
| Perpetrators |
|
| Verdict | All perpetrators guilty on all counts |
| Convictions | Capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault |
| Sentence | Cantu, J. Medellín, O'Brien: Death Pérez, Villarreal: Death; commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole (after 35 years) V. Medellín: 40 years imprisonment |
The rape and murder of Jennifer Lee Ertman and Elizabeth Christine Peña, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, aged 14 and 16, respectively, occurred on June 24, 1993. The murder of the two girls made headlines in Texas newspapers due to the nature of the crime and the new law resulting from the murder that allows families of the victims to view the execution of the murderers. The case was also notable in that the state of Texas rejected attempts by the International Court of Justice to halt several perpetrators' executions.