Summary of Offense: Convicted and sentenced to death for the May 17, 1986 murder of Patricia Leeann Webb.

On the evening of May 16, 1986, 25-year-old Patricia Webb attended an office party, then went with several other women to two night clubs. They met William Joseph Kitchens at the Silver Bullet saloon, and he appeared friendly and danced with several of the women, including Patricia Webb. None of the women observed any evidence that Kitchens and Webb had "paired off" or otherwise appeared to be developing a relationship, but the last they saw of Webb was her waving goodbye and saying she was going to drive Kitchens home in her Pontiac Fiero.

The following night, Blanchard, Oklahoma police followed a speeding car onto a dirt road, where it got stuck in a ditch and abandoned. The car belonged to Webb. Officers eventually located Kitchens at his parents' house and arrested him, later locating a .22 pistol, the murder weapon. Kitchens gave a written confession to killing Webb. Kitchens stated that he met the victim in Abilene, went back to his motel with her and had sexual intercourse, then the two went for a drive, ending up on a dark, wooded road. Though he did not remember everything, he told the officers he remembered shooting the victim in the head in the woods.

Kitchens directed officers to the body of Webb, and an autopsy revealed that she had been beaten, strangled, and finally shot in the eye from a distance of six to eight inches. At the punishment phase of trial, Kitchens admitted to telling a police officer that he had decided to kill the victim at the motel. He admitted that he "may have" forced the victim to take him out to the secluded wooded area where she was killed. He admitted telling an officer that he had opened her car door and yanked her out of the car by her hair, grabbed her by the throat, and led her into a wooded area where he shot her. Kitchens' explanation was that, at the time, he was drunk and believed that he was doing these things to his wife. It took the jury 15 minutes to decide for the death penalty.

Victim:
Patricia Leeann Webb

Manner of execution:
Lethal injection

Time of Death:
6:22 p.m.

Last Meal:
half a dozen sunny-side-up fried eggs, eight pieces of pan sausage, six slices of toast with butter and grape jelly, crispy hashbrowns and milk and orange juice

Final Statement:
Kitchens, 37, prayed shortly before his death, asking God to forgive him "for the despicable things I've done." After concluding the prayer, he turned to his own friends and family and said, "I love you all. You all take care, I'm so sorry. I don't know how to tell you, there's no way to express my sorrow," he said, "I hope you can find the peace the Lord has given me. I can't change it. I'm sorry, I can't replace your loss. I want you to know that Patty was always faithful to you, that I forced her for everything that she did, and I am sorry."