More than 28 years after orchestrating the murder of his wife, former Texas police officer Robert Alan Fratta was executed by lethal injection on January 10, 2023, at the Huntsville Unit in Texas.
Fratta was convicted of arranging the 1994 killing of his wife, Farah Fratta, during a bitter divorce and custody dispute. Prosecutors proved that he hired intermediaries who ultimately carried out the murder outside the couple’s home in Atascocita, Texas. After decades of appeals and legal challenges, his death sentence was upheld.
In his final moments, Fratta addressed family members gathered to witness the execution. Among his last words was the phrase, “That depends,” delivered in response to a question about whether he had any final statement before continuing with remarks to loved ones. Witnesses reported that he expressed love for his family and thanked supporters before the lethal injection process began.
Fratta was pronounced dead at age 65, becoming one of several inmates executed by Texas in 2023. His execution brought a formal end to a case that had remained in the courts for nearly three decades.
For the family of Farah Fratta, the execution marked the final chapter in a long and painful legal journey that began with a murder-for-hire plot and ended on Texas death row.
