George Hopper was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of Rozanne Gailiunas
According to court documents George Hopper would break into the home of Rozanne Gailiunas and murder her in her bed. The murder would go unsolved for years until police started to take a closer look at Joy Davis Aylor whose husband was having an affair with Gailiunas. Turns out she paid George Hopper $1500 to murder the woman. Aylor would flee the country and end up in France where the only way to extradite her was to take the death penalty off the table
George Hopper would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
George Hopper would be executed by lethal injection on March 8 2005
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When Was George Hopper Executed
George Hopper was executed on March 8 2005
George Hopper Case
On 4 October 1983 in Richardson, 4-year-old Peter Gailiunas Jr. found his mother, Rozanne, 33, lying on her bed, bloody, naked, and unconscious. Her mouth was stuffed with tissue and she was making a gurgling sound. She had been strangled and shot twice in the head. She was taken to the hospital, where she died after two days.
At the time of the murder, the victim had been having an affair with Larry Aylor, a wealthy homebuilder who was building a new house for the Gailiunases. Gailiunas and Aylor had both filed for divorce from their spouses and had plans to marry. Peter Gailiunas Sr. accused Aylor of the murder. Aylor, in turn, accused Peter. Both men were cleared, however, and no arrests were made. Aylor’s socialite wife, Joy, 34, was also initially considered as a suspect. Peter Gailiunas put up a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest for his wife’s murder.
Larry and Joy Aylor reconciled after his affair was disclosed, but in 1986, they were again considering divorcing. Around that time, Larry was ambushed at his ranch by two gunmen, but he managed to escape. Two years later, he received an anonymous phone call from a woman claiming that the 1986 attempt on his life was connected to Rozanne Gailiunas’ death. Aylor urged the woman to call the police.
That woman, Carol Garland, did call the police, and asked about the $25,000 reward. She then told police that her sister, Joy Aylor, paid her husband, William Garland, $5,000 to have Rozanne Gailiunas killed. Garland and another man, Brian Kreafle, in turn hired Hopper and paid him $1,500 to carry out the crime.
Hopper eluded police for five months, but was finally arrested in the Dallas area on 20 December 1988. He gave detailed audio and video confessions on 27 February 1989. He said that he went to Gailiunas’ home posing as a flower delivery man. Once inside the house, he forced Gailiunas to remove her clothing, then tied her to a bed and attempted to rape her. He then began to strangle her with pantyhose. When the victim freed one of her hands and began struggling with him, he shot her in the head twice through a pillow.
The investigation went on for two more years before Hopper was indicted. Hopper had no prior felony convictions. He had previously been charged with indecent exposure and had been arrested for pickpocketing. A jury convicted Hopper of capital murder in March 1992 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in November 1997. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.
Joy Aylor was arrested in September 1988, but was released on $140,000 bail. The night before her 1990 murder trial was to begin, she emptied her bank accounts and fled to Canada with her attorney, who was also reportedly her lover. After the lawyer was arrested in Canada on a drug charge, Aylor then fled to Mexico, then Europe. She settled around Nice, France, living under the alias Elizabeth Sharp. Her identity was exposed after she became involved in a minor traffic accident while driving a rental car. She was arrested in March 1991. The French government refused to extradite her, however, because of its opposition to capital punishment. Aylor was returned to Texas in December 1993 after the state pledged that she would not face the death penalty. She was convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
William Garland and Brian Lee Kreafle also received life sentences.
In 1993, Gailiunas’ parents won a $35 million lawsuit against Joy Aylor for her responsibility in their daughter’s death.
Aylor was also found to be behind the 1986 attempted murder of her husband. Larry Aylor won a $31.2 million lawsuit against his wife in 1990. The two gunmen involved in that crime were also apprehended, convicted, and sent to prison.
The long, intricate story was made into two books: “To Hatred Turned: A True Story of Love and Death in Texas” by Ken Englade in 1993, and “Open Secrets: A True Story of Love, Jealousy, and Murder” by Carlton Stowers in 1994. It also inspired a made-for-television movie, “Telling Secrets,” starring Cybill Shepherd in 1993.
“I have made a lot of mistakes in my life,” Hopper said in his last statement. “The things I did changed so many lives. I can’t take it back. It was an atrocity. I am sorry. I beg you forgiveness. I know I am not worthy of it.” Hopper then told his parents that he loved them and said a brief prayer. The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.