Texas man executed for killing his daughters while mom was on the phone

By Nicole Chavez and Keith Allen, CNN
Updated 0603 GMT (1403 HKT) February 2, 2018

(CNN) — A man who was convicted of killing his two daughters while his wife listened on the phone was executed Thursday night in Texas, the state's Department of Criminal Justice said.

John David Battaglia, 62, died of lethal injection, CNN affiliate KDAF reported.

In 2001, Battaglia and his daughters -- ages 6 and 9 -- were in his Dallas apartment when he shot them, officials said.

The girls' mother was on the phone with the 9-year-old when she heard the gunshots, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.

"She heard the girl screaming no daddy no, and then she heard several gun shots," an investigator told KDAF at the time of the incident.

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