John Hummel executed in Texas for killing pregnant wife and daughter, 5, as his last words are revealed

AN inmate, who stabbed his pregnant wife and bludgeoned his father-in-law and five-year-old daughter, said he "truly regrets" killing them before he was executed on Wednesday.

John William Hummel, 45, received a lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas for the 2009 killings.

Before he was put to death, he said he would "be with Jesus" when he "wakes".

He said: "I truly regret killing my family. I love each and every one of you."

The killer was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital and started snoring quietly after a few breaths.

He was pronounced dead at 6:49pm local time - 13 minutes after the injection was administered, AP reports.

Hummel murdered his pregnant wife Joy, 34, by stabbing her more than 30 times and used a baseball bat to kill his father-in-law Clyde Bedford, 57, and daughter Jodi, five.

He then burned down the family home in Kennedale.

Prosecutors said Hummel killed his family because he wanted to run off with a woman he met at a store.

Hummel fled to Oceanside, California but was arrested. He admitted the killings.

The former hospital guard was convicted of capital murder for the deaths of his wife and father-in-law.

Attorney Michael Mowla didn't file any last-minute appeals as he said all available legal routes had been exhausted.

Courts rejected Mowla's attempts to stop the execution as Hummel had not been properly assessed on whether he would be a future danger.

'A SENSELESS KILLING'

This is a question Texas juries must answer in death penalty cases.

Hummel's execution was pushed back last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Miles Brissette, a defense attorney in Fort Worth, said: "This guy senselessly took the life of a beautiful mother, a beautiful child, and a grandfather that did everything for them. For him to want to be single and just kill them this way is senseless.”

Clyde's sister Cylinda said: "I don't have no closure. And him being put to death is not going to be closure either because then we'll never know why."

Hummel was the second person to be executed in Texas this year.

The execution comes just months after Quintin Jones received a lethal injection after beating his aunt to death with a baseball bat in 1999.

No journalists were present at that execution.

Texas Tribune reporter Jolie McCullough said at the time: "Having witnessed executions myself, I can’t overstate how important it is for the media to be a part of them.”