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- Apr 23, 2010
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John Battaglia's horrified ex-wife listened helplessly on the phone as her daughter begged: "No, Daddy! Don't do it!"
Battaglia used a custody visit to gun down his two daughters
A Texas accountant who shot dead his two daughters while they spoke on the phone to his ex-wife has won a last-minute death chamber reprieve.
A federal appeals court has stopped the scheduled lethal injection of John Battaglia, 60, was was scheduled for 6pm local time on Wednesday.
His lawyers argued he deserved a fair hearing to determine claims he may be mentally incompetent for execution, and the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
The former Marine shouted "Merry f****** Christmas" as he murdered nine-year-old Faith and six-year-old Liberty at his Dallas home on 2 May 2001.
Battaglia after his 2001 arrest (R) and more recently
His horrified ex-wife, Mary Jean Pearle, listened helplessly on the call as Faith begged for mercy, crying: "No, Daddy! Don't do it!"
Ms Pearle then heard gunfire burst over the line.
The younger girl appeared to have been running for the door when she was gunned down, the trial heard.
The killings stunned colleagues who thought of Battaglia as a doting dad
Faith, who loved to play soccer, and Liberty, a budding ballerina, were each shot six times.
Shortly before opening fire, Battaglia had put Faith on the phone with her mother and made the child ask: "Why are you trying to put daddy in jail?"
Twice-divorced Battaglia had a history of violence against women and had earlier been convicted of hitting Ms Pearle.
Liberty (L) and Faith Battaglia
Shortly before he killed his daughters, an arrest warrant had been issued after he violated his probation by making an abusive call to his ex-wife.
Despite all this, he was allowed unsupervised visits with the children.
After shooting his daughters, Battaglia went to a nearby tattoo parlour to have two red roses etched into his arm - one for each girl.
Ms Pearle told her husband to 'burn in hell forever'
He was arrested as he walked outside - it took four officers to subdue him.
Battaglia left a message on his daughters' answering machine that night, saying: "Goodnight, my little babies. I hope you are resting in a different place. I love you."
He also said: "I wish you had nothing to do with your mother. She was evil and vicious and stupid."
In a prison interview with the Dallas Morning News in 2014, Battaglia shirked blame for the murders.
"I don't feel like I killed them," he told a reporter.
He also referred to his daughters as his "best little friends".
Battaglia had appeared to be a doting dad, who displayed his daughters' crayon drawings on his office wall.
After her ex-husband was convicted in 2002, Ms Pearle told him to "burn in hell forever".
Source SKY NEWS.
Battaglia used a custody visit to gun down his two daughters
A Texas accountant who shot dead his two daughters while they spoke on the phone to his ex-wife has won a last-minute death chamber reprieve.
A federal appeals court has stopped the scheduled lethal injection of John Battaglia, 60, was was scheduled for 6pm local time on Wednesday.
His lawyers argued he deserved a fair hearing to determine claims he may be mentally incompetent for execution, and the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
The former Marine shouted "Merry f****** Christmas" as he murdered nine-year-old Faith and six-year-old Liberty at his Dallas home on 2 May 2001.
Battaglia after his 2001 arrest (R) and more recently
His horrified ex-wife, Mary Jean Pearle, listened helplessly on the call as Faith begged for mercy, crying: "No, Daddy! Don't do it!"
Ms Pearle then heard gunfire burst over the line.
The younger girl appeared to have been running for the door when she was gunned down, the trial heard.
The killings stunned colleagues who thought of Battaglia as a doting dad
Faith, who loved to play soccer, and Liberty, a budding ballerina, were each shot six times.
Shortly before opening fire, Battaglia had put Faith on the phone with her mother and made the child ask: "Why are you trying to put daddy in jail?"
Twice-divorced Battaglia had a history of violence against women and had earlier been convicted of hitting Ms Pearle.
Liberty (L) and Faith Battaglia
Shortly before he killed his daughters, an arrest warrant had been issued after he violated his probation by making an abusive call to his ex-wife.
Despite all this, he was allowed unsupervised visits with the children.
After shooting his daughters, Battaglia went to a nearby tattoo parlour to have two red roses etched into his arm - one for each girl.
Ms Pearle told her husband to 'burn in hell forever'
He was arrested as he walked outside - it took four officers to subdue him.
Battaglia left a message on his daughters' answering machine that night, saying: "Goodnight, my little babies. I hope you are resting in a different place. I love you."
He also said: "I wish you had nothing to do with your mother. She was evil and vicious and stupid."
In a prison interview with the Dallas Morning News in 2014, Battaglia shirked blame for the murders.
"I don't feel like I killed them," he told a reporter.
He also referred to his daughters as his "best little friends".
Battaglia had appeared to be a doting dad, who displayed his daughters' crayon drawings on his office wall.
After her ex-husband was convicted in 2002, Ms Pearle told him to "burn in hell forever".
Source SKY NEWS.
