Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
An episode of People Magazine Investigates: Surviving a Serial Killer will air on ID on Sunday, May 12, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. Per a synopsis, the episode reads, “A new romance between two college students derails when a sadist attacks them during a nighttime walk by the railroad tracks; only one of them lives and she turns out to be the sole survivor of a serial murderer known as the Railroad Killer.”
Angel Maturino Resendiz was the infamous Railroad Killer who was accused of around 15 murders of victims who were in the vicinity of railroad tracks. The court sentenced Resendiz to death, and he was executed on June 27, 2006. He was pronounced dead at 8:05 p.m. and was 46 years old at the time of his death. He was given the lethal injection at the Huntsville prison in Texas, and the execution was reportedly the 13th one in Texas in 2006, NBC News reported.
In his last words, the Railroad Killer mumbled, “Lord, forgive me. Lord, forgive me.” He then reportedly turned to the relatives who had come to witness the execution and were watching through a window. He addressed them by saying, “I want to ask if it is in your heart to forgive me. You don’t have to. I know I allowed the devil to rule my life.” He also addressed the relatives of his victims, concluding, “I thank God for having patience for me. I don’t deserve to cause you pain. You don’t deserve this. I deserve what I am getting.”
Before he died, Resendiz also confessed to more murders than those that were known during his trial, as per a report by Fox News.
What was the Railroad Killer convicted of?
The court convicted the Railroad Killer of first-degree premeditated murder of Claudia Benton despite him being linked to the murders of several others. The most widely-known crime committed by Resendiz was the attack on Christopher Maier and Holly Dunn. Holly Dunn is the sole survivor of the Railroad Killer and played an essential role in the trial that ended in his conviction.
After attending a party, Maier and Dunn were dating when they took a nighttime walk along the railroad tracks on August 28, 1997. Resendiz reportedly took them by surprise and attacked the couple. He repeatedly beat Maier with a rock and killed him. After killing Maier, he raped, beat, and stabbed Dunn before leaving her there, assuming she was dead. However, Holly Dunn was alive, ABC 13 reported.
Claudia Benton was a physician who was attacked in her Houston home, which was close to the railroad tracks. She was 39 years old and was sexually assaulted and murdered on December 17, 1998. A married couple, Norman and Karen Sirnic, were also murdered using a sledgehammer by the Railroad Killer. Norman was a pastor at the United Church of Christ in Texas. 87-year-old Leafie Mason was allegedly also killed in Texas using an antique iron in her house.
George Morber and his daughter Carolyn Frederick were also allegedly killed by the Railroad Killer. Noemi Dominguez and Josephine Konvicka were killed on the same day. They were bludgeoned using the same pickax, as per a report by CBS News. They were his last known victims.
“Surviving the Railroad Killer” will air on ID this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
