John Duvall was executed by the State of Oklahoma for the murder of his estranged wife Karla Duvall
According to court documents John Duvall would go over to the home of his estranged wife Karla Duvall. The two would have an argument and John would stab Karla before killing her by suffocating her with a pillow
John Duvall would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
John Duvall would be executed by lethal injection on December 17 1998
John Duvall Case
A Duncan man who confessed to using a series of kitchen knives and a meat fork to stab his wife to death was executed early today.
John Wayne Duvall, 47, died by injection at 12:15 a.m. CST at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Hours earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to issue a stay of execution and rejected three last-minute appeals.
In his last statement, Duvall said, “I just like to thank God for his son and my savior Jesus Christ and ask forgiveness for my sins.
“Thank you for the family I have and their unconditional love and support,” he said.
Duvall then made a short prayer in which he asked God for mercy.
He took several breaths when the injection began at 12:06 a.m. and then began to blink rapidly. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard several times while making a deep, raspy sound.
His chest convulsed about seven times before he was pronounced dead.
Duvall was the 13th condemned killer executed in Oklahoma since 1977, and the second put to death within the past week.
He was convicted in 1987 for the Sept. 15, 1986, slaying of his 30-year-old wife, Karla. Her death was discovered three days later after Duvall confessed to a county commissioner at the Stephens County Courthouse
At the time of the slaying, Duvall had moved out of the duplex where the couple lived with their son, Marcus, who was 4 at the time. The boy, now 16, was at a grandmother’s house when his mother was killed.
Officials say Duvall returned to the duplex and the couple argued, prompting him to hit Karla Duvall with an ashtray. Duvall later told investigators he dragged her into the kitchen, where he stabbed her repeatedly.
Duvall told investigators he then took his wife to the shower, washed her off and assisted her to the bed, where she pleaded for help. He replied, “It’s just too late for that” and placed a pillow over her face.
Karla Duvall’s daughter from a previous marriage, Teresa Perkins, witnessed the execution with her husband, Nick; Karla Duvall’s brother, Don Bobbitt; and his son, Nathan Bobbitt.
“It has been 12 long, painful years for me and my family to see justice served, and now the time has come for judgment day, and just maybe now I can find peace and some form of closure out of this ordeal and get on with my life,” said Perkins, who lived with her father when her mother was slain.
About a dozen death penalty protesters gathered shortly before 10 p.m. outside the prison gates around a portrait of the Virgin Mary. They sang hymns and prayed.
“These guys here done wrong,” 16-year-old protester Daniel Harrison said, nodding toward the penitentiary. “But when they die, I think their families are victims, too.”
Nearby, several members of an Oklahoma City homicide survivors support group gathered in the cold to show their support for the death penalty.
“We’re down here because the victims’ family never ever stops having pain or agony,” said Louise McDaniel, whose 22-year-old grandson was murdered. “If we want to talk to our loved ones, we have to go to the cemetery.”
Stephens County District Attorney Gene Christian had predicted all of Duvall’s appeals would be rejected.
“Is there a question as to guilt? No, he confessed and was up front on all those issues,” Christian said.
Duvall ate his last meal, which included a steak sandwich, onion rings, a large chocolate milkshake and bottled water, at noon Wednesday as requested.
Prison spokeswoman Lee Mann said Duvall spent much of the day visiting with family members. Duvall did not request any witnesses to view his execution
Last month, Duvall was denied clemency when two state parole board members voted for clemency, two voted against the measure and one abstained. Clemency is automatically denied without a majority vote.
