Man executed in Galveston for murdering his young son in 2008

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The state of Texas executed 38-year-old Travis Mullis in Huntsville on Tuesday evening. In a final statement, Mullis announced that he regretted the murder of his son and described his execution as a form of “assisted suicide.”

Mullis waived his right to appeal his 2011 capital conviction and death sentence.

“I do not regret the decision to legally expedite this process. I regret the decision to take my son's life. I apologize to my son's mother and the victim's family,” Mullis said in his final statement.

Mullis also said he is no longer the same man he was when he murdered his son.

Neither his family nor his son's family were present at the execution. A woman listed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as Mullis' girlfriend was present at the execution. Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady and First Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen were also present at the execution. Both declined to comment after the execution but issued prepared statements.

“Today marks the long-awaited execution of the verdict of a jury that heard all of the evidence. We remain grateful for their service. We are also grateful for the diligent investigation of Galveston Police Officers who were confronted with the most disturbing facts and images in solving this case. My deepest thanks go to Kayla Allen, Donna Cameron and the late Lyn McClellan – the prosecutors who diligently brought this tragic case to trial and ensured that Alijah Mullis received justice,” Roady wrote.

“Some acts are such egregious violations not only of the law but of civilized norms that the only appropriate response by society is to punish the wrongdoer with the maximum penalty. It is important to remember why we are here. Mullis sexually abused his three-month-old son before murdering him in a brutal and unspeakable manner. A jury of 12 citizens heard the facts and concluded that the evidence and the law required that Travis Mullis receive the maximum penalty. Their verdict was affirmed by higher courts 13 years after conviction. Today, the verdict of the citizens who heard all the evidence was finally carried out. Mullis' son, Alijah Mullis, would have celebrated his 17th birthday next month,” Allen wrote.

A lawyer for Mullis also made a statement about the execution.

“Texas will kill a reformed man tonight. Travis Mullis committed a horrific crime and always took responsibility for it. He never had a chance to live, abandoned by his parents and then severely abused by his adoptive father starting at age three. During his decade and a half on death row, he spent countless hours working toward his redemption. And he did it. The Travis Texas wanted to kill is long gone. Rest in peace, TJ,” wrote Shawn Nolan, chief of the Capital Habeas Unit, federal public defender for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mullis confessed to the crime in 2008 after driving around for three days and eventually ending up at a Philadelphia police station. According to court documents, Mullis walked into the police station and told an officer he believed he was wanted in Texas for murder. Mullis then wrote a six-page statement and made an hour-long videotaped confession to two homicide detectives.

“I regret everything I have done and I am prepared to accept all the consequences that come with the situation,” Mullis said during his confession on February 1, 2008.

Mullis stated on January 29, 2008, that he, his girlfriend and his newborn son were living with a friend because they did not have money for their own apartment. At around 2 a.m., his girlfriend asked him to go to the store to get cigarettes and candy bars. Mullis said he woke up his friend's 8-year-old daughter and asked her to accompany him to the store. Mullis said on the way back from the store, he stopped at the little girl's school and they both walked to the playground.

“I had asked her to take off her pants at the time, but she said 'no.' She started crying, she got scared, and I got scared too,” Mullis told investigators. “I was upset about what I was doing. I knew it was wrong. So I told her, 'Let's just go home.'”

Mullis said he experienced “flashbacks” to the time he was sexually molested as a child.

“I thought I could get rid of the flashbacks by, well, acting on them, but when I got to the point where I was ready to act on them, I changed my mind because I knew it was wrong,” Mullis said.

Mullis said when he got home, he told his girlfriend what had happened.

“She was afraid we would be kicked out of the house because of this, and she was also afraid that I might try it again. At the time, I told her that I wanted help and that I needed help before I relapsed,” Mullis told investigators.

Mullis said he told his girlfriend he needed to get away for a while to plan his next steps and make arrangements for a place to stay in case they were kicked out of her boyfriend's trailer.

“She told me to take Alijah with me because that way she would know I would come back,” Mullis said.

Mullis said he then drove from Brazoria County to a remote location on the east end of Galveston while his son slept in the back seat. Mullis said his son then woke up and started crying. Mullis said he then jumped in the back seat and tried to comfort his son, but nothing worked.

“I was at the edge of my strength from all the stress and I was, you know, scared. I panicked, I was at the edge of my strength and I broke down at that point. I felt like the only way to make him stop was to kill him,” Mullis confessed.

Mullis said he strangled his son, then stomped on his skull, then left him on the side of the road. Alijah's body was found along with his car seat and other items by a passerby. After killing his son, Mullis contemplated suicide before driving out of the state and stopping at various churches where he got help with gas money and groceries. Mullis said he also pawned the car's stereo to get quick cash.

“I was afraid of going to jail and I was afraid of the consequences of what I did,” Mullis said.

Mullis told investigators he was on his way to Abingdon, Maryland, where he grew up. Mullis said he met with his old “mentor” before eventually driving to Philadelphia and turning himself in to police. Mullis was then convicted of capital murder in 2011. Although he did not mention it in his confession, prosecutors said Mullis also abused his young son.