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On Tuesday, January 10, former Texas police officer Robert Fratta was executed for ordering the 1994 murder of his estranged wife, Farah Fratta.
According to Fox, the former, aged 65 at the time of his death, hired two men to murder his wife approximately three decades ago, in January 1994. The Houston Chronicle reported that Robert was arrested for the murder on April 21, 1995, though he always claimed that he was innocent.
Robert Fratta was officially pronounced dead at 7.49 pm on Tuesday after receiving a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
While he was initially sentenced to death in 1996, the conviction was initially overturned due to technicalities in the judicial proceedings. He was subsequently resentenced for the killing in 2009.
What happened to the Fratta family after Robert Fratta's murder-for-hire plot?
According to the Huffington Post, Robert Fratta hired Joseph Prystash in 1994 to arrange for the murder of Farah Fratta. Joseph went on to hire the gunman, Howard Guidry, who shot Farah twice at the family home in Atascocita, Houston.
As per court records, in the days leading up to the crime, the convicted former cop had told his friends about his plans to murder his wife, even going as far as to ask for advice on potential hitmen. Robert had allegedly said:
“I’ll just kill her, and I’ll do my time and when I get out, I’ll have my kids."
Court records indicate that in the initial ruling, the federal judge involved in the case had condemned the accused for his alleged actions. The judge had stated:
"Trial evidence showed Fratta to be egotistical, misogynistic, and vile, with a callous desire to kill his wife."
The Associated Press reported that after Robert was arrested for the crime, his three children were raised by Farah Fratta's family. The children eventually took the deceased's maiden name, Baquer.
Andy Kahan, the director of victim services and advocacy for Crime Stoppers of Houston, said that even on the day of his execution, Robert did not say anything to his child.
While his son, Bradley Baquer, was present at the killing, the former cop did not address him or Farah's brother, Zain Baquer. Andy claimed that shame and cowardice may have played a role.
Andy Kahan stated at the press briefing:
“Bob was a coward in 1994, when he arranged the murder for hire of his estranged wife. And 28-plus years later, he still was a coward tonight. When he was offered an opportunity to at least extend an olive branch to his son that he knew was watching this."
He added:
“And he still chose the coward’s way out. He could have said: ‘I’m sorry.'"
ABC reported that Robert was the first inmate to be executed by the State of Texas this year.
