Oklahoma man executed for high-profile 2001 killing, first of 2 executions today

Oklahoma man executed for high-profile 2001 killing, first of 2 executions today Advertisement Updated: 11:53 AM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Chantelle Navarro Anchor Oklahoma man executed for high-profile 2001 killing, first of 2 executions today Updated: 11:53 AM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Chantelle Navarro Anchor Oklahoma has carried out the execution James Pavatt, who was convicted for his role in a high-profile 2001 murder in Oklahoma City. Pavatt was sentenced to death for the murder of Rob Andrew in 2001. Pavatt still claimed he did not kill Andrew, but the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended against granting him clemency last month. Advertisement He was executed shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. In Texas, John Allen Rubio was set to be put to death later Thursday. The 46-year-old was convicted of beheading three young children he was raising in a 2003 killing that rattled a community along the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. is on track to surpass 40 executions for a second consecutive year, a pace driven by Florida as the death penalty comes under renewed attention. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would commute hundreds of death sentences before leaving office, which experts say would be the largest mass clemency in American history. California governor says he'll commute all 548 death sentences in state to life without parole Background on Pavatt's case Rob Andrew and his estranged wife, Brenda Andrew, were separated and going through a divorce when Brenda Andrew began a romantic relationship with Pavatt, who was a life insurance agent at the time and helped Rob Andrew get an $800,000 policy. Prosecutors argued that Brenda Andrew and Pavatt conspired to kill Rob Andrew so his estranged wife could benefit from the policy. >> Video Below: Oklahoma man maintains innocence as execution looms in high-profile 2001 murder case He was fatally shot in the garage of the Oklahoma City home he'd previously shared with his wife as he picked up their two young children before Thanksgiving. Brenda Andrew told police after her husband was killed that masked intruders shot her in the arm and fatally shot him. Before Rob Andrew’s funeral, Brenda Andrew fled to Mexico with Pavatt. The pair was captured by Mexican authorities three months later. At a clemency hearing last month, Pavatt said he was “not guilty of shooting anyone,” While Pavatt’s family shared home videos portraying him as a loving family man and veteran, he was convicted for his role in Rob Andrew’s murder. Prosecutors have said that Pavatt and Brenda Andrew plotted to kill her husband, and that no matter who fired the shots, both were equally guilty. Both of them eventually were convicted of the murder. Brenda Andrew currently sits on death row. During the investigation, it was revealed that Rob Andrew’s brake lines had been cut a month before his murder. Rob had reported the incident to authorities. "My brake lines have been cut for my car. That sounds like attempted murder, don't you think?" Rob Andrew told dispatchers. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement in mid-September urging the Pardon and Parole Board to not recommend clemency. "Rob Andrew was gunned down in his own garage, feet from the children he loved, by a man he had trusted as a friend and an insurance agent," Drummond said in a news release. "Twenty-five years later, Pavatt still won't tell the truth about what he did. There must be justice for Rob." 3 young children beheaded in Texas Rubio and his girlfriend, Angela Camacho, were accused in the killings of 3-year-old Julissa Quesada, 14-month-old John E. Rubio and 2-month-old Mary Jane Rubio in the squalid, windowless apartment they shared in Brownsville, located on Texas’ border with Mexico. Camacho pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence. Rubio’s first capital murder conviction in the killings was overturned by an appeals court, which ruled that statements by Camacho were wrongly allowed as evidence in his trial. Rubio again pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity for his second trial but he was once again convicted and sentenced to death. Rubio, according to court records, wasn’t the biological father of the two older children but treated them as if they were his own. At various points, Rubio claimed the children were possessed and that he was the “chosen one” intended to save the world. Defense experts diagnosed Rubio as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, a determination rejected by prosecution experts. Defense experts testified his childhood — filled with violence at home, “toxic” parents, drug use and prostitution — damaged him developmentally. The apartment building where the children were killed was later demolished and the land was turned into a park and a community garden. Rubio is set to be executed at the state prison in Huntsville. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks Police: 1 killed, 4 injured in D.C. shooting; Suspect shot himself after police standoff Brooklyn building collapse killed 2 children and 6 adults, mayor says Why are gas prices dropping and how low will they go? WATCH: Ocean liner SS United States is sunk off Florida's coast after a long goodbye