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Kimberly LaGayle McCarthy’s Background

Kimberly LaGayle McCarthy was born in Greenville, Texas on May 11th, 1961. As an adult, she worked in the medical field. She was married in 1993 and had a child around the same time, but the marriage ended in 1996.

Despite being in a growing career field and having a loving family, she got involved with crack cocaine. She had convictions for forgery, prostitution, and theft of services in the 1980s and 1990s.

Murder of Dorothy Booth

On July 21st, 1997, McCarthy contacted her 71-year-old neighbor, Dorothy Booth, to see if she could borrow some sugar. Booth allowed her to come over to her Lancaster, Dallas home.

Unfortunately for Booth, McCarthy didn’t want sugar; she wanted money, and she attacked Booth and stabbed her five times, then beat her with a candle holder.

Once her neighbor was dead, McCarthy cut off her finger so she could take her valuable wedding ring. McCarthy fled the home with Booth’s purse and her expensive Mercedes-Benz. After pawning the ring for $200, she used the funds to feed her crack addiction. She also used Booth’s credit card to purchase items from a liquor store.

Police caught up with McCarthy the day after the murder and arrested her. She had Booth’s license on her at the time, and the murder weapon was found in her home.

McCarthy went to trial in the fall of 1998. She tried to blame the crime on drug dealers, but all the evidence pointed to her.

The prosecution secured a quick and easy conviction.

Sentencing

At her sentencing, prosecutors dropped a bombshell: McCarthy’s DNA was linked to the 1988 murders of 81-year-old Maggie Harding and 85-year-old Jettie Lucas. Both ladies were friends with McCarthy’s mother.

Harding was beaten with a meat tenderizer and stabbed. Lucas was stabbed and beaten with a claw hammer.

Police believe those crimes were also motivated by money and desperation to purchase drugs.

On November 24th, 1998, McCarthy was sentenced to death for murdering Booth.

She successfully appealed, but in 2002, she was retired, convicted, and once again sentenced to die.

Prosecutors indicted her for the murders of Harding and Lucas, but since she was already on death row, they never went forward with the cases.

Execution

Unlike most executions, McCarthy’s didn’t take decades to carry out.

On June 26th 26, 2013, she had her final meal: pepper steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, mixed vegetables, and white cake with chocolate icing. Since Texas no longer gives special meals to prisoners before execution, she was given the same meal that was served to all inmates.

Later that day, the 52-year-old was marched to the death chamber to meet her maker.

Before they stuck the needle in her arm, she stated, “This is not a loss, this is a win. You know where I am going. I am going home to be with Jesus. Keep the faith. I love y’all. Thank you, chaplain.”

She was pronounced dead at 6:37 pm. She was the 500th person in Texas to be executed by lethal injection.