A Euless man was given the death penalty by a jury in Tarrant County on Wednesday after being found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her 10-year-old daughter in 2018.
Paige Terrell Lawyer, 44, was sentenced to death on April 24, after being found guilty of capital murder during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial last week. Jurors had the option of sentencing Lawyer to life in prison but decided that the severity of his crime warranted the death penalty, as reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Medical examiners previously established that O’Tishae Womack, 30, and Ka’Myria, 10, were strangled to death. Womack, a Fort Worth resident, left behind twin 4-year-old boys, Zayden and Kayden.
O’Tishae was discovered by her sister Lashundra Womack, who went to her apartment after she didn't show up for their usual walk. This information comes from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. O’Tishae was found on the kitchen floor with a plastic bag over her head and was bleeding from her face. Ka’Myria was found in an upstairs bedroom covered by a blanket.
“He cruelly, without reason, took the lives of two people,” Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel told the jury. “He is not going to change. … He is going to be a future danger. And you know that.”
Police had been called to the residence on two previous occasions, both times for reports of domestic violence. Lawyer was accused of trying to strangle Womack on both occasions.
“Two lives were taken that day,” Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Dale Smith said. “Both died as a result of strangulation, the defendant’s signature.”
Lawyer fled Texas after committing the crimes and was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, near Nashville a week later, per a report by Fox News. He is said to have confessed to his uncle, but it is not clear if the uncle notified law enforcement of the man’s whereabouts.
During the trial, prosecutors told the jury that Lawyer may have killed O’Tishae to prevent her from testifying against him in an upcoming domestic violence trial. During sentencing, jurors also learned that Lawyer had sexually assaulted Ka’Myria.
Lawyer’s DNA was found on the knot in the bag around O’Tishae’s head, under O’Tishae’s fingernails, on Ka’Myria’s shorts, inside Ka’Myria’s underwear, on a bleach bucket, and on a can of Lysol. Lawyer’s fingerprint was also found on a mop handle in Ka’Myria’s blood.
The jury deliberated for approximately seven hours over two days before returning with the death penalty sentence.
“Your terrible act has devastated our family,” O’Tishae’s sister Lashundra said after the sentence was read. “You took a huge piece of our hearts. … You forever will be known as a murderer, a rapist, and a coward.”
Texas currently has around 180 inmates on death row. The most recent execution was on February 28, 2024, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. According to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the last Tarrant County death sentence was in November 2019, when a convicted drug cartel hitman was sentenced for the death of two people, one of whom was beheaded with a machete.
In Dallas, there have already been 65 homicides and nonnegligent manslaughters this year, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard. FBI data indicated Dallas police solved only 39% of murders in 2020.
Additionally, the City only allocated $654 million to support law enforcement, which is a much smaller budget than other high-crime cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. The Police Department currently has around 3,000 officers, but a report from the City stated that about 4,000 officers are needed to ensure public safety.
