Christopher Vialva biography: 13 things Killeen, Texas man

Christopher Andre Vialva was an American man from Killeen, Texas, United States. His mother Lisa Brown grew up in a military family, enlisted in the U.S. Army upon her high school graduation and met Vialva’s father at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA.

At age 19, Vialva’s father, a soldier from Trinidad, married Brown. She was disowned by her own father when he found out that he married the soldier, who was violent and abusive toward her. She eventually left Vialva’s father and had relationships with abusive white men, who all rejected Vialva.

On June 21, 1999, Vialva, Brandon Bernard, Christopher Lewis, Tony Sparks and Terry Brown found Todd Bagley using a payphone at a convenience store. Bagley, who was with his wife Stacie Bagley, agreed to give the group a ride in his car.

In the back seat, Vialva pulled out a gun and ordered Todd and Stacie to get into the car’s boot. Vialva forced Todd to disclose his personal identification number then withdrew cash from the Todd’s account at an automated teller machine and was able to get $100, which he used to buy several items including fast food and cigarettes.

That day, Vialva spent six hours driving around Bell County, Texas while the couple was locked in the trunk. He eventually drove the car to a secluded area in the Belton Lake Recreation Area on the grounds of Fort Hood in Killeen and opened the trunk.

When Stacie told Vialva that God loved him, he cursed at her and shot her in the head with a .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic pistol but she did not die. When he shot Todd in the head, Todd died instantly.

After shooting the couple, Vilava ordered his accomplices to pour lighter fluid in the trunk and on the car. Bernard set it on fire and Stacie died of smoke inhalation.

While in prison, Vialva crocheted several stuffed animals and blankets for his mother. One of his supporters was Indiana lawyer and activist named Ashley Kincaid Eve.

After U.S. attorney general William P. Barr announced the resumption of federal executions in July 2019, Vialva became the first black inmate executed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Vialva is also the first federal inmate executed for crimes committed as a teenager in more than 70 years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

In Vialva’s last statement, he asked God to comfort Todd and Stacie’s families. The inmate said, “Father… heal their hearts with grace and love.”

“I’m ready, Father” were Vialva’s final words. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. He attended Ellison High School in Killeen, where he played football. In high school, he was often disciplined for being disruptive, according to The Intercept.
2. On June 20, 1999, he met with Lewis and Sparks, his fellow gang members, to plan a robbery.
3. On June 21, 1999, he, Lewis and Sparks enlisted the help of Bernard and Terry to execute their robbery plan.
4. He and Bernard were tried in federal court because their crimes were committed in Fort Hood. On June 13, 2000, a jury of 11 white people and one black person at his trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas found him and Bernard guilty of carjacking, first-degree murder on a government reservation, aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury voted for the two to receive the death penalty.
5. In 2003, he met his lawyer Susan Otto, who said race played a role in landing him on death row.
6. On May 10, 2020, he turned 40.
7. On August 10, 2020, he filed a 100-page habeas corpus petition in federal district court, which was denied on September 9, 2020.
8. On September 15, 2020, his lawyers released a five-minute video featuring his message to the media. Seated against a white background, he was wearing glasses, a beige prison uniform, a knitted kippah and a white and blue prayer shawl over his shoulders while reading from a piece of paper held in his handcuffed hands. In the message, he said, “I’m not making this plea as an innocent man but I am a changed and redeemed man. I committed a great wrong when I was a lost kid and took two precious lives from this world… I’m not the stupid kid I was the day I made the most desperate and tragic decision of my life.”
9. On September 18, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denied his request for a stay of execution.
10. On September 24, 2020, he was executed by lethal injection. He was pronounced dead at 6:46 p.m. at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA.