The air in the Huntsville execution chamber was still and heavy as Richard Lee Tabler, 46, lay strapped to the gurney at 6:31 p. m. on February 13, 2025.
After 19 years on Texas death row for a cold-blooded spree that left four people dead over two days in 2004, the state was about to carry out his sentence. He had no special last meal; Texas banned that tradition in 2011. Instead, Tabler barely touched the standard prison tray of Salisbury steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cornbread.
At 6:11 p. m. , the first lethal đčđđđ entered his veins.
His breathing slowed, his fingers twitched, and then his chest went still. He was pronounced dead at 6:38 p. m.
, just five days before what would have been his 46th birthday.
Tablerâs final words were a plea for forgiveness. âThere is not a day that goes by that I donât regret my actions,â he said, addressing the families of his victims, some of whom were present. âI had no right to take your loved ones from you, and I ask and pray, hope and pray that one day you find it in your hearts to forgive me for those actions.â
He added, âNo amount of my apologies will ever return them to you.â He thanked the officers for their professionalism, his legal team for believing in his transformation, and then softly said goodbye.
To understand how we arrived at this moment, we must go back to November 2004 in Killeen, Texas. On a cold Friday night, November 26, Muhammad Aminina Ramuni, 28, a strip club manager, and his friend Hayam Frank Zed, 25, drove to a parking lot expecting a simple deal on stereo equipment. Waiting in the dark was 25-year-old Richard Tabler, armed with a 9 mm pistol and a camcorder.
He had lost his job at the club Ramuni managed weeks earlier, and claimed Ramuni had threatened to wipe out his family for $10. Tabler fired first at Zed, killing him instantly. Then he turned on Ramuni, who groaned âStill alive,â so Tabler dragged him from the car and delivered a point-blank final shot.
Accomplice Timothy Payne, an 18-year-old Fort Hood soldier, videotaped parts of the killing. Tabler stole Ramuniâs wallet and a black bag, then drove away.
That same night, Tabler called the Bell County Sheriffâs Office himself. He claimed responsibility for the murders and promised more. It was not a confession; it was a threat.
Two days later, on Sunday, November 28, he kept that promise. Tabler had written a hit list of 11 names, all connected to the strip club. He lured 18-year-old Tiffany Lorraine Dodson and 16-year-old Amanda Benfield, both dancers, with the promise of drugs.
They followed him to a quiet lake outside the city limits. There, he shot them again and again. The girls collapsed near the water, bleeding out beneath the moonlight.
Tabler left them in the dirt and drove away. Again, he called the sheriffâs office, telling them two more were dead. He demanded the club be shut down, warning that if it wasnât, he would đđŸđđ everyone on his list, even the police.
The next day, an employee of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers stumbled across the bodies.
Dodson was quickly identified, but Benfield remained a mystery for days. She was a runaway, just 16, far from home, unclaimed. It wasnât until December 4 that police confirmed her identity.
In 48 hours, Richard Tabler had taken four lives: two men, two girls, each killing deliberate, each colder than the last. He was arrested later that same day, November 28, on unrelated felony theft charges, but investigators quickly connected him to the murders. He confessed in interrogation, admitting to all four killings.
He later recanted, but the damage was done. A grand jury indicted him in February 2005, and the prosecution sought the death penalty.
Tablerâs trial for the first two murders began in March 2007. Within three days, the jury returned a guilty verdict. On April 2, 2007, he was sentenced to death.
He was never tried for the murders of Dodson and Benfield. Accomplice Timothy Payne was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison, eligible for parole in 2044. Tabler was sent to the Allan B.
Polunsky Unit, Texasâs notorious death row facility. Over the next 19 years, he attempted suicide, was moved for mental health treatment, and filed multiple appeals. He sometimes asked to waive his appeals, only to change his mind later.
In 2008, using a smuggled cell phone, he made threatening calls to Texas State Senator John Whitmire, naming the senatorâs daughters and their address. Investigators discovered Tabler had made over 2,800 calls in 30 days, sharing the contraband phone with nine other inmates. His own mother had smuggled the phone in; she was arrested at a Texas airport weeks later.
The đđđđđčđ¶đ triggered a statewide lockdown. Tabler continued sending handwritten death threats, even manipulating a prison chaplain to smuggle letters out. In 2009, he created a blog while incarcerated, again threatening Whitmireâs life.
He was charged with terroristic threats and sentenced to an additional 10 years behind bars.
Despite this, in the years leading up to his execution, Tablerâs attorneys described a changed man. He ministered to other inmates, created art, wrote spiritual reflections, and raised a tiny baby lizard in his death row cell. On February 12, 2025, the eve of his execution, his wifeâwhom he met through a prison pen pal programâreleased a public statement on his behalf.
He expressed deep regret and said he was at peace with the life he had lived since his crimes. That same night, his 77-year-old mother, older sister, and wife visited him one last time. They described a man who looked out for weaker inmates, who smiled easily, who had learned to sit in silence and reflect on his sins.
By noon on February 13, the Huntsville unit was quiet and tense. Tabler ate the standard prison food: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and bread. His final moments were near.
At 6:31 p. m. , he was strapped to the gurney.
He looked calm, resigned. In his final statement, he asked for forgiveness from the families of his victims, thanked his family and legal team, and expressed gratitude to the death row staff for their support. As the lethal drugs flowed, he said goodbye.
Just minutes later, he was declared dead at 6:38 p. m.
Richard Tablerâs execution marks the end of a 19-year legal battle and a brutal chapter in Texas crime history. His crimes shattered families and shocked the community of Killeen. For the families of Muhammad Aminina Ramuni, Hayam Frank Zed, Tiffany Lorraine Dodson, and Amanda Benfield, the wait for justice is finally over.
But the pain of losing loved ones to a cold-blooded spree killer will never fully heal. Tablerâs last words offered an apology, but as he himself acknowledged, no amount of remorse can bring back the four lives he took. The state of Texas has now made sure he will never đđŸđđ again.
