I Married a Monster

Sometimes Life Really is Stranger Than Fiction

Marvin Zuniga-Cruz, J1 Staff Writer

 

Imagine a man murdered your children. Tough to imagine, never mind handle, right?

Now, imagine that this same man is also the man you married, the man you thought was the one you would grow old with, and raise your children with. That would be even harder to handle. Now, imagine that this person, the one who destroyed all those hopes and dreams, is taunting you and mocking you as he sits waiting to be executed.

Sounds like the stuff of television and movies. It’s not.

This man’s name is John David Battaglia, and the crime that he committed occurred in 2001 when he shot and killed his two children while he had his ex wife on the phone, so she  could only listen helplessly while he murdered their daughters.

The crime, which took place in Dallas, Texas, gained widespread attention. Following the murders, Battaglia was convicted of capital murder, and sentenced to death in 2002. He stated that he committed the murders to get back at his estranged wife. Battaglia had a history of domestic violence and was on probation for attacking his then ex-wife

On his execution date, his ex-wife came to see him put to death, but once he saw her he  chose to taunt her. According to people at the execution he said,  “Well, hi, Mary Jean.” Then once his lethal injection was put in, he continued his taunt with “I’ll see y’all later. Bye. Go ahead, please.” He soon died to the injection.

This just goes to show that no matter how much you trust someone and think the best about them, there can always be a dark side to them that you don’t know that they have. In this case, the story ended up as a tragedy and as a warning for all people to truly examine those around you – even those closest to you. Sadly some people realize this too late and end up marrying monsters.