There is a case that has lingered on Texas death row for years, repeatedly delayed by legal battles over the presence of a spiritual advisor at the moment of execution. The next scheduled date for John Henry Ramirez was set for October 5 — a case that has drawn attention not only for the brutality of the crime but for the extraordinary circumstances surrounding its final chapter.
John Henry Ramirez was just 19 years old at the time of the killing. He would turn 20 less than three weeks later. A former United States Marine, Ramirez had fallen on hard times after leaving the military. According to accounts, he became heavily addicted to drugs. On the night of July 19, 2004, that addiction and a desperate need for cash led him and two female accomplices to a convenience store in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Murder of Pablo Castro
Pablo Castro, 46, was working the evening shift at the Times Market convenience store. It was nearly closing time, close to midnight. As Castro stepped outside to take out the trash, he was approached by Ramirez, who was armed with a knife. One of the women stood beside Ramirez; the other waited in the getaway van.
Ramirez stabbed Pablo Castro 29 times. He then searched the dying man’s pockets and fled with just one dollar and twenty-five cents.
A customer later entered the store and alerted the manager, who was closing out the register. She went outside, initially unaware that the man on the ground was her employee. When she realized it was Pablo Castro, she began screaming. Bystanders from a nearby car wash rushed over to help and tried to calm her. One of them, Mariano Cervantes, had witnessed part of the attack. He later testified that he saw what appeared to be a fight between a young man and an older man, with a woman standing nearby. Cervantes recognized the younger attacker — he had gone to school with John Ramirez. As Cervantes and his friend approached to help, Ramirez and the woman jumped into separate vans and sped away.
Castro died immediately from his wounds.
The Accomplices and the Escape
The two women, Angela Rodriguez and Christina Chavez, were arrested the same night. Ramirez, however, escaped to Mexico. He remained at large for four years before being captured near the border in 2008.
Rodriguez and Chavez had traveled from San Antonio to Corpus Christi a few days earlier to visit Rodriguez’s family. The trio had been drinking and using drugs together for three or four days. When their money ran out, they decided to rob someone. After the murder of Pablo Castro, they attempted another robbery but were spotted by police. A high-speed chase ensued, with speeds exceeding 70 miles per hour. The women were captured; Ramirez bailed out of the moving vehicle and escaped.
Forensic evidence left at the scene was damning. In the struggle, Ramirez had cut himself severely, including a deep gash to his hand. His blood was found on Castro and at the scene, later confirmed by DNA testing.
Convictions and Sentences
In 2006, the two women were tried and convicted.
- Christina Chavez was found guilty of three counts of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- Angela Rodriguez was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of murder. Because she was present during the fatal stabbing, she received a life sentence but became eligible for parole in 2035.
Ramirez’s Version of Events
In a later interview conducted in Spanish, Ramirez offered a different account. He claimed he had been sitting in a car, minding his own business on his cell phone, when he looked up and saw his friend fighting with Pablo Castro. He said he got out to help, that Castro punched him, and that he “snapped.” He insisted he was never there to rob anyone.
Multiple witnesses, however, contradicted this story. Several saw Ramirez reach into Castro’s pockets after the stabbing. One witness said it was the woman who took the money, but the one dollar and twenty-five cents was later found dropped on the console of the getaway van. The store manager also testified that she had bought dinner for Castro that night because he told her he only had a dollar and some change — money that was missing from his pockets after the attack.
The robbery element was the critical aggravating factor that made the crime eligible for the death penalty in Texas. Without it, Ramirez could have faced only life without parole. His repeated insistence that no robbery occurred has been widely viewed as an attempt to remove that aggravating circumstance.
Pablo Castro’s son later described his father as one of the kindest and gentlest people one could ever meet — a man who would never have instigated or engaged in the kind of fight Ramirez described.
Overwhelming Evidence
Ramirez has never denied killing Pablo Castro. The forensic evidence, witness testimony, DNA, and the accounts of his accomplices formed an overwhelming case. The only real dispute centered on whether the murder was committed in the course of a robbery — the element required to secure a death sentence under Texas law.
This is the story of a brutal, senseless killing over pocket change — a crime that began as a desperate search for drug money and ended with a man stabbed 29 times behind a convenience store. It is also the story of a former Marine whose life unraveled after military service, leading him down a path that would place him on death row for two decades.
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This account is based on court records, trial testimony, police reports, and public statements connected to the case of John Henry Ramirez. It is presented for informational and documentary purposes only.
