Cedric Ricks was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, on March 11, 2026, for the 2013 murders of Roxann Sanchez and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa. The case began inside a Bedford apartment, where prosecutors said an argument between Ricks and Sanchez escalated into a deadly knife attack that also left Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, severely wounded.
Investigators determined that Ricks attacked Sanchez with a kitchen knife before turning on her children when they tried to intervene. Anthony was killed, while Marcus survived despite being stabbed 25 times. According to trial evidence, Marcus pretended to be dead until Ricks left the apartment, then managed to call for help. An infant child in the home was not harmed.
Detectives built the case through crime-scene evidence, medical findings, witness testimony, and the surviving child’s account of the attack. After fleeing the scene in Sanchez’s vehicle, Ricks was later arrested in Oklahoma. Prosecutors said the evidence showed a deliberate and violent attack inside the home, not an accident or act of self-defense.
In 2014, a Tarrant County jury convicted Ricks of capital murder and sentenced him to death. His case remained in the courts for years as attorneys pursued appeals, including claims related to jury selection and racial bias. Those final challenges were rejected, clearing the way for the execution to proceed.
During his final statement, Ricks apologized repeatedly to the victims’ family, including Marcus, who witnessed the execution. He expressed remorse and asked for forgiveness before the lethal injection was administered.
The execution closed a case that had remained active for more than a decade. For prosecutors and investigators, it marked the final legal chapter in a domestic violence case that left two people dead, one child permanently scarred, and a family forever changed.
Ricks’ case also became part of a broader conversation about domestic violence, child survivors, and capital punishment in Texas. What began as an argument inside a family home ended in a homicide investigation, a death sentence, and years of legal review before the state carried out the punishment.
