Man who killed daughters taunts ex-wife as he’s executed

A former Dallas accountant who fatally shot his two young daughters while their mother listened helplessly on the phone has been put to death in Texas.

John David Battaglia received a lethal injection Thursday night for the May 2001 killings of his 9-year-old daughter, Faith, and her 6-year-old sister, Liberty.

Battaglia’s last words before his death at 9:40 p.m. included a greeting to his ex-wife. “Hi Mary Jean. See y’all later. Go ahead please,” he said, according to the Houston Chronicle.

His ex -wife at the trial

Battaglia had been divorced from his wife, Mary Jean Pearle, for about a year when he shot their two daughters during a scheduled visit.

The girls were at Battaglia’s house for dinner when he learned there was a warrant out for his arrest. Pearle was seeking to have him arrested for violating a protective order.

Battaglia later urged his older daughter to phone their mother and ask why she wanted him to go to jail, Texas Tribune reported.

Before he unleashed a series of bullets, Pearle said she heard her daughters’ final cries for help.

“No, daddy, please don’t do it,” they pleaded.

Authorities later discovered their bodies in the basement of Battaglia’s apartment with multiple gunshot wounds. Faith had been shot three times, Liberty five.

NY Daily News