In Texas, a man was executed for the brutal murder of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter, which he claimed was an exorcism lasting 30 hours. In his final moments, he spoke about finding salvation through Jesus.

Blaine Milam, 35, died by lethal injection about 6.40pm on Thursday night in Huntsville, Texas.

The tragic event took place in December 2008, when the child, Amora Rose, was killed in a trailer in East Texas. The man and his girlfriend asserted that they were conducting an exorcism to rid the child of a demon.

In a final statement, Milam thanked supporters as well as the prison chaplaincy for opening its faith-based programs to death row inmates.

While on the death chamber gurney, he expressed, ‘If any of you wish to see me again, I urge you, regardless of your beliefs, to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and we shall meet once more.’

‘I love you all. Bring me home, Jesus.’

As the lethal dose of sedative pentobarbital began flowing into his right hand and left arm, at 6:19pm local time, Milam grunted and gasped once, then began snoring quietly. 

After about two minutes, all sounds and movement stopped. Minutes later, he was declared dead.

Blaine Milam, 35, died by lethal injection about 6.40pm on Thursday night in Huntsville, Texas 

Horrific details of little Amora’s death had previously emerged in court documents, including that she was found with human bite marks and signs of both physical and sexual assault.

Milam had appealed his death penalty on the basis that he was suffering from an intellectual disability and it is unconstitutional to execute intellectually disabled inmates.

In 2019 and again in 2021 he received stays on his execution dates to have his appeals heard, but ultimately exhausted all of his legal avenues.

He was ruled mentally fit for execution and on Tuesday the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously declined to grant Milam clemency. 

Milam had initially blamed then-girlfriend Jesseca Carson for the killing and alleged she was the one who claimed the girl was possessed by a demon. 

She was tried separately from Milam and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of capital murder for helping Milam. Both were 18 at the time. 

Prosecutors said Milam savagely beat the girl and also bit, strangled, and mutilated her over a period of 30 hours. Court documents show a pipe wrench was among the evidence that tied Milam to the slaying.

A forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy found the child had multiple skull fractures along with broken arms, legs, ribs and numerous bite marks. The pathologist testified at trial that he could not determine a specific cause of death because the girl had so many potentially fatal injuries.

‘If any of you would like to see me again, I implore all of you no matter who you are to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and we will meet again,’ he said from the death chamber gurney

Rusk County District Attorney Micheal Jimerson, who tried the case along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, said in 2019 that authorities initially treated Milam and Carson as grieving parents.

But Carson later told investigators Milam told her Amora was ‘possessed by a demon’ because ‘God was tired of her lying to Milam,’ according to court records.

Jimerson said at the time he still couldn’t pinpoint a motive, believing the exorcism claim was just a way for Milam and Carson to cover up their crime.

The prosecutor witnessed the execution.

‘We will never know what Amora would have contributed to our world,’ Jimerson said Thursday evening after it was over. ‘Answering the call for justice for the most helpless is a measure of a civilized people.’

Among other observers was the child’s grandfather, Richard Mutina. He declined to speak with reporters after the execution.

Milam was the fifth person put to death this year in Texas, historically the nation´s busiest capital punishment state. 

Florida leads the nation this year with a record 12 executions conducted to date in 2025 with two more scheduled in the state by mid-October.

He was one of two inmates executed across the United States on Thursday evening.

The second was Geoffrey West, who was put to death in Alabama with nitrogen gas for fatally shooting a gas station employee during a 1997 robbery. 

The two executions brought the year’s total to 33 death sentences carried out nationwide.