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A man on Texas death row, condemned for murdering his former girlfriend and her young son, used his final moments on Wednesday to express remorse to the surviving child of his victims. The convict, Cedric Ricks, had also critically injured this child with 25 stab wounds during the tragic 2013 incident.
Cedric Ricks, aged 51, faced the grieving family members of his victims, who observed from behind a glass partition at the Huntsville Unit prison. He conveyed his regrets for the loss of Roxann and Anthony, hoping they might one day find it within themselves to forgive him.
In 2014, Ricks was found guilty of capital murder after fatally stabbing Roxann Sanchez, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Figueroa, multiple times. The gruesome act unfolded during a heated argument at Sanchez’s apartment in Bedford, a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, in May 2013.
“I can’t begin to fathom the pain I’ve caused,” Ricks acknowledged. “I’m thankful for the chance to say this to you directly. I sincerely hope that someday you can find forgiveness, to free yourselves from enduring this pain.”
Cedric Ricks was executed on March 10, 2026, for the slayings of Roxann Sanchez and her son, Anthony Figueroa, in 2013. (Courtesy of Texas Department of Criminal Justice; Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images)
Marcus Figueroa, who survived the attack as a 12-year-old boy, showed no visible emotion as he watched from just steps away from the gurney. Scars were visible on the back of his neck above his shirt collar — remnants of the stabbing that nearly killed him.
“And to Marcus, I always thought about you, and I’m sorry that I took your mom and your brother away,” Ricks said. “I hate that you had to experience that… I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done.”
“I hope to find Roxann and Anthony in Heaven, and I can tell them I’m sorry face to face… I hope y’all go in peace,” he added.
Ricks was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT after receiving a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
According to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez were arguing when her two sons attempted to intervene. Ricks grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Sanchez multiple times before turning the weapon on the boys.
Marcus Figueroa was stabbed 25 times but survived after pretending to be dead until Ricks left the apartment.Â
Ricks did not harm his own then-9-month-old son, Isaiah, according to court records cited by The Associated Press.
The Huntsville Unit prison in Huntsville, Texas, where Cedric Ricks was put to death. (Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images)
Sanchez died from stab wounds to the neck, blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxia, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Ricks fled in Sanchez’s car and called family members to confess to the killings. Authorities traced his cellphone and arrested him in Garvin County, Oklahoma, and he was extradited back to Texas.Â
At trial, Ricks acknowledged he struggled with anger and claimed he had been defending himself after the boys came to their mother’s aid, according to the AP. He had appeared in court the day before the killings on a prior assault charge involving Sanchez, the outlet reported.
File photo of The Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas, where prisoners from death row are executed. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ricks’ final appeal Wednesday without comment. His attorneys had argued prosecutors improperly struck potential jurors based on race, but the Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records showed the jury selection decisions were race-neutral and had already been upheld by lower courts.
Earlier in the week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks’ request for clemency or a temporary reprieve.