Lesley Gosch was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of Rebecca Jo Patton
According to court documents Lesley Gosch would gain access to the home of Rebecca Jo Patton by posing as a flower delivery man. Once inside Gosch would demand Rebecca Jo Patton to call her husband, a bank president, and a sum of money. When the husband called the police Lesley Gosch would fatally shoot Rebecca Jo Patton
Lesley Gosch would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Lesley Gosch would be executed by lethal injection on April 24 1998
Lesley Gosch Photos
Lesley Gosch Case
The accomplice witness, Rogers, was a long-time acquaintance of appellant (Lesley Gosch). At some point in 1984, Rogers lived with appellant and appellant’s girlfriend, a woman named Georgina. In August of 1985, appellant told Rogers that he was concerned about going to federal prison on a weapons violation conviction. Appellant felt that it would not be “constructive” for him to be imprisoned for this offense and sought to have Rogers aid him in fleeing the country. The two originally planned to rob a bank but Rogers rejected this alternative as “too risky and too violent.”
The two then discussed a second alternativethat being kidnapping and ransoming the wife of a bank president. Appellant informed Rogers that he knew of two potential targets in the Alamo Heights area of San Antonio and, in the latter part of August of 1985, appellant began to focus on a specific target for his extortion scheme. In the latter part of August or early September of 1985, appellant first mentioned the name of Frank Patton as a potential target for the extortion plan.
Approximately two weeks later, Rogers and appellant began to formalize their scheme. They drove by the Patton home in early September to ascertain whether the plan could be completed safely. In mid-September appellant and Rogers began to take steps to carry out their plans. They planned that appellant was to gain access to the Patton home under the guise of delivering flowers to Rebecca Patton. After entering the home, appellant was to *778 bind his victim with duct tape and then take her to a secluded, rural area of Bexar County. Rogers’ role was to go to North Star Mall and wait for Frank Patton to arrive with a ransom payment. Originally, this scheme was to begin on September 16, 1985.
On September 15, 1985, appellant and Rogers made a dry run by the Patton residence. On September 16, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Rogers picked up appellant at the Windsor Park Mall’s “Park and Ride.” The two then drove to a Stop and Go convenience store located in the 500 block of Austin Highway near Alamo Heights. There Rogers purchased a soft drink along with a pastry and appellant bought a carton of milk. After leaving the store, Rogers and appellant drove around the Pattons’ neighborhood to determine whether there was much activity on the streets and whether Rebecca Patton’s automobile was parked at the home.
While driving around the neighborhood, Rogers began having second thoughts. Rogers felt that they should carry out their plan another day because of problems with his car. Appellant was angered by Rogers’ position; nevertheless, he agreed to cancel plans for that day. The two agreed to try again the next day, September 17, 1985. Rogers and appellant then left Alamo Heights.
On the 17th of September, Rogers again rendezvoused with appellant at the Park and Ride. The pair once again drove to the same Stop and Go convenience store on Austin Highway. Once again Rogers’ lack of courage and his misgivings about his automobile caused the operation to be postponed. The two agreed to try the next day.
On September 18th, Rogers once again met appellant at the Park and Ride. They once again visited the Stop and Go convenience store on Austin Highway. Rogers and appellant then returned to the Pattons’ neighborhood. After satisfying themselves that Mrs. Patton was at home, the two drove to Rogers’ apartment so that appellant could change his shirt. At Rogers’ apartment, appellant changed out of a camouflage shirt and into a blue one belonging to Rogers’ one-time roommate, Stephen Hurst. Rogers made a phone call (at approximately 10:30 a.m.) to the Patton residence to determine if Mrs. Patton was home alone. Rogers also called the bank where Mr. Patton worked. Rogers was informed that Mr. Patton was in a meeting; Rogers stated that he would call back. After calling the bank, Rogers and appellant returned to Alamo Heights.
Rogers drove appellant to the Pattons’ neighborhood and dropped him off in the vicinity of the Patton home. Appellant left the car with a flower box containing a .22 caliber pistol, a black silencer and a roll of duct tape. Rogers then drove around the block twice; on the second trip around the block, Rogers saw appellant walking toward the bus stop. At this point Rogers picked up appellant. Appellant informed Rogers that no one had answered the door at the Patton home. The two drove around looking for a pay telephone. After finding one, appellant called the Patton home and spoke with Rebecca Patton. He told her that he was from a nursery and that he had sent a man to the house who was unable to deliver some flowers. Mrs. Patton apologized saying she had been unable to hear the door because she had been vacuuming.
At some point between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., Rogers again called the Castle Hills bank and asked to speak with Frank Patton. Rogers used the fictitious name of Mr. Anderson in this second call and hung up as soon as Frank Patton answered the phone. After making his call to the bank, Rogers drove appellant back to the Pattons’ neighborhood and once again dropped him off in the vicinity of their home. Rogers then drove to a liquor store with a pay telephone and waited for appellant to call.
Rogers stood by the phone for approximately twenty minutes awaiting appellant’s call. The call never came; instead, appellant came running back to the phone booth. Upon seeing Rogers, appellant stated, “There was no need to go get the money because [I] killed her.”
When appellant got into the car, he removed the .22 caliber pistol, silencer and *779 duct tape from the waistband of his blue jeans. The two drove back to appellant’s apartment. At that time, appellant gave Rogers a black bag containing the Ruger automatic, two silencers, another handgun and some ammunition. Appellant also gave Rogers a bag containing appellant’s shirt and shoes. Rogers placed all these items in the trunk of his car and returned to his apartment. With the exception of the shoes, Rogers took these items, along with a pair of gloves belonging to appellant, to his apartment. Rogers examined the murder weapon at the apartment and determined that it was no longer loaded. Rogers put the two pistols, the two silencers and the ammunition into a brown attache case and gave it to Stephen Hurst that evening. Rogers asked Hurst to take the weapons and put them up out of the way, or, as he phrased it, “put them in the deep freeze.”
On the day after the murder, Rogers picked up appellant at the Wonderland Mall and they returned to Rogers’ apartment. Appellant lived at Rogers’ apartment until the two were arrested on September 25, 1985.
https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/1991/69726-3.html
