Tulsa man executed for 1994 slaying of ex-girlfriend

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) A Tulsa man who killed his estranged girlfriend more than 10 years ago maintains his innocence to the end. <br/><br/>Kenneth Eugene Turrentine died at 6:10 Friday evening at the Oklahoma

Friday, August 12th 2005, 6:40 am

By: News On 6

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) A Tulsa man who killed his estranged girlfriend more than 10 years ago maintains his innocence to the end.

Kenneth Eugene Turrentine died at 6:10 Friday evening at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, shortly after an injection of drugs stopped his heart.

Less than an hour earlier, the US Supreme Court had denied his last-minute appeal, and the state carried out his death sentence for the June 4th, 1994 shooting of 39-year-old Anita Richardson.

Before the execution, the 52-year-old told his mother and other family members that he loved them and for them to be strong.

Turrentine originally was convicted and sentenced to death as well for the killings of Richardson's 13-year-old son, Martise, and her 22-year-old daughter Tina Pennington, but those convictions were thrown out last year. He was sentenced to life without parole for killing his sister, Avon Stevenson, during the spree.

Jerry Richardson -- who was Martise's father -- says the killing caused years of suffering, especially when he realizes how old his son would be had he lived.