Dallas man who drowned 6-year-old stepdaughter in bathtub executed Tuesday
DALLAS - A Texas inmate was executed Tuesday night for the killings of his estranged wife and his 6-year-old stepdaughter nearly 14 years ago.
51-year-old Gary Green was convicted for the murder of 32-year-old Lovetta Armstead and Jazzmen Montgomery in 2009.
The girl’s biological father says he has forgiven the man who killed his baby girl and her mother. He tells as many people as he can about domestic violence and its heartbreak.
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Ray Montgomery Jr.'s daughter, Jazzmen, was 6 years old on Sept. 21, 2009, when she was drowned in a bathtub.
Green stabbed Armstead mother more than two dozen times at their home in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas.
Jazzmen’s 9-year-old brother was also stabbed but survived. Another child in the home was threatened but unharmed.
"Gary Green did not agree to the annulment of their marriage, his and Lovetta's marriage," Montgomery said. "And so he decided he plotted out a plan to kill all five of them."
Police say the two boys were able to Green out of killing them. He then left the location and then took an overdose of medication trying to kill himself."
Green was convicted and sentenced to death in ’22.
"I forgive Gary Green," Montgomery said. "How can I be a Christian and live a Christian life, but I don't forgive Gary Green?"
Montgomery does not believe Green's documented mental illness caused him to kill Armstead and Jazzmen
"I absolutely think he knew what he was doing the way he plotted out the whole event that day," he said.
Montgomery's memories of his baby girl are a book her classmates made to deal with their feelings, her kindergarten graduation cap and gown and sandals for her little feet.
Now, Montgomery speaks everywhere he can about domestic violence.
"My message is I do not want this to happen to any other female or any other family," he said. "I would not wish this feeling that I've had to deal with the past 12-13 years on anyone."
Green's final statement before dying by lethal injection said "I apologize for all the harm I have caused you and your family. We ate together, we broke bread together, we laughed and cried together as a family. I’m sorry I failed you, there’s nothing I can do. I’m not just saying that because I’m laying on this gurney. We were all one, and I broke that bond right or wrong I took not one, but two people that we all loved, and I had to live with that while I was here. I ask that you forgive me, not for me but for y’all. I’m fixing to go home and y’all are going to be here. I want to make sure you don’t suffer. You have to forgive me to heal and move on. Sorry JT, I always loved you and I told you I will never say goodbye, but this is goodbye. There’s nothing I can do to bring your mom and sister back. One thing about the man I used to be, is that I never stopped loving y’all. See y’all on the other side. God bless you. I’m done, warden."