Summary:

Paul Selso Nuncio, a former security guard, was convicted of capital murder in the strangulation death of 61-year-old Pauline Crownover Farris in Plainview, Texas.

Nuncio broke into Pauline's home through the back door and beat her until she was unrecognizable, then raped her and strangled her to death. He then stole two television sets, a stereo, a VCR and some jewelry.

He was arrested almost a week after the murder after selling one of the TV's. He admitted to police that he broke into Pauline's home so that he could steal to make money for drugs. Farris was alone in her house after midnight Dec. 3, 1993 when Nuncio and a group of friends ran to her porch to get out of a rainstorm. When the rain stopped, everyone but Nuncio left.

The following morning, neighbors found her dead on the living room floor of her home. She was lying face down and nude, with a blouse or pajama top pulled up around her shoulders.

Last Statement

Texas Attorney General

Media Advisory: PAUL NUNCIO SCHEDULED TO BE EXECUTED.

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn offers the following information on Paul Nuncio who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m., Thursday, June 15th.

In March of 1995 a jury convicted Paul Nuncio of capital murder for killing 61-year-old Pauline Farris. Nuncio was sentenced to death in June 1995.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On the evening of Dec. 2, 1993, Paul Nuncio went out drinking with several friends and acquaintances at clubs in Plainview, Texas. The group consisted of: Nuncio, Isabel Barrios, Oralia Medrano, Efrain Garcia, Enrique (Henry) Navarro, Angela Ruiz, and Olga Villalon.

Shortly after midnight, December 3, the group got a ride with a relative of one of the group's members and, apparently, rode around for a while looking for a "bootlegger" before finding themselves on Beech Street.

At this point, an argument between Nuncio and the driver resulted in the driver stopping the car and "kicking" Nuncio and the others out in the pouring rain. The group then ran to the porch of the house at 708 Beech Street, a house which was owned and occupied by Pauline Farris, the 61-year-old victim.

Oralia Medrano, one of the seven present, used to rent a small house located directly behind the victim's residence and Nuncio visited Medrano frequently during that time.

Nuncio stated in his confession that he knew who Pauline Farris was, but "hadn't really ever met her." The group members' testimony differed as to how long they remained on the porch: one testified that it was as little as 10 to 15 minutes, while others thought it was as long as an hour and a half to two hours.

However, all generally agreed that they were making a lot of noise talking while they were on the porch, but none of them ever saw any lights come on or heard any sounds from inside the house. Several persons claimed to have knocked on either the front or back door, but each stated that there was no answer.

At one point, Nuncio left the porch and unsuccessfully attempted to hot-wire Farris's vehicle which was parked in her driveway. When the rain subsided somewhat, everyone except Nuncio left the house; one member of the group asked Nuncio where he was going, but Nuncio did not answer. Others in the group testified that Nuncio was not intoxicated at the time they left the porch of the house.

Sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. on Dec. 3, Nuncio visited a room at the Warrick Inn, where he sold a television for $50 When the buyer observed blood on Nuncio's shirt and arm, Nuncio gave an explanation along the lines that he had been helping a friend with some sheep, one of which had been pregnant.

After he sold the man the television, Nuncio left and returned about 45 minutes later with a camera, a stereo and some rings.

The man did not want the rings so Nuncio threw them in a nearby trash can. At the buyer's request, Nuncio wrote out a receipt for the sale of the items and confirmed his identity by showing the buyer his driver's license and writing the number on the receipt.

About 4:25 a.m., Plainview police officer Steven Cook saw Nuncio on the corner of Carver Street. Thinking it rather strange for a person to be hanging around a street corner at that time of morning, officer Cook approached Nuncio and asked him for identification.

Nuncio claimed not to have any identification on him, but he verbally identified himself as Joe Nuncio from Frederick, Oklahoma. Officer Cook testified that Nuncio appeared somewhat disoriented and confused, so he administered a series of field sobriety tests.

However, the officer concluded that Nuncio was not intoxicated and he noticed no odor of alcohol on Nuncio's breath. At Nuncio's request, officer Cook later gave Nuncio a ride to the Givens Street Apartments and dropped him off.

Shortly thereafter, Nuncio encountered an acquaintance, Kenneth Brooks. Nuncio asked Brooks to take him to "his house" to pick up a television and directed him to the victim's house on Beech Street.

Nuncio picked up a television from Pauline Farris's porch and then asked Brooks to take him to the Warrick Inn, where Nuncio attempted unsuccessfully to sell the television. The prospective buyer noticed fresh blood on Nuncio's arm. After his unsuccessful effort to sell the television, Nuncio and Brooks went to the Airport Motel.

Between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m., Nuncio went to the room at the Airport Motel where Henry Navarro and Angela Ruiz were staying. Nuncio asked Navarro if he wanted to go drinking, but Navarro declined and Nuncio left.

Ruiz noted that Nuncio "was all drunk," which she said was distinctly different from when she had been with him on the porch of the victim's house earlier that morning. Nuncio then went to the motel room of his friend Patricia Lopez about 6:30 a.m. and offered to sell her the television.

She told him to come back later when her husband was home. Nuncio subsequently sold the television to a friend of Olga Villalon. When Nuncio went back over to Lopez's room a little later, she confronted him about what appeared to be blood on his boot.

In response, Nuncio simply stared at her and left. When Lopez went to her mother's room to talk to her about the blood, Nuncio walked in and began cleaning off his boot, explaining that it was not blood, but ketchup.

Around 11:00 a.m., Dec. 3, Nuncio asked Lopez and her husband for a ride to Lubbock but they refused. Later that afternoon, Nuncio told Villalon that he needed money to leave town and that he was going to a loan company to get some.

Later that afternoon, Nuncio applied for a $150 loan at the Sun Loan Company, listing a TV, a VCR, a stereo, and a four-wheeler as collateral. Nuncio initially told the loan officer that he needed the money for "newborn stuff," but he also wrote on the application that he was single.

When confronted by the loan officer, he admitted that he really wanted to take a trip, but thought he would not get the loan if he had told him that. Furthermore, Nuncio put on the application that he was employed at M & S Videos. Upon learning that Nuncio had, in fact, never been employed there, the loan company refused to grant his loan request.

Meanwhile, also around 11:00 a.m., Pauline Farris's neighbors found her dead on the living room floor of her home. When investigators arrived at the scene, they found Farris lying face down and nude, with a blouse or pajama top pulled up around her shoulders.

A pair of ladies' slacks or pajama bottoms and women's underwear were next to her right foot. Investigators observed that the victim was not wearing any rings, and that her bottom denture plate was lying several feet from her body under the corner of a small coffee table, while the top denture plate was still in her mouth.

Farris's daughter testified that her mother wore her dentures at all times, including when sleeping. She also testified that she knew of at least one ring her mother wore constantly, including to bed.

In addition, a vacuum cleaner was observed next to the victim's body with the cord lying underneath her and there was a variety of evidence indicating that the house had been ransacked, either during the struggle or after.

The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy noted that the injuries to the victim included: numerous bruises on the face, neck, shoulders, arms, legs and scalp, as well as in the groin area; hemorrhaging of both eyes and bleeding in the white of the right eye; marks on the neck consistent with manual strangulation.

The pathologist also testified that a number of bruises on the victim's legs, hands, and arms were consistent with defensive wounds and, on the front part of her scalp, the victim had many bruises caused by a blunt object. The record further reflects that the victim had numerous bruises on her upper thighs consistent with her legs being violently forced apart.

On Dec. 5, 1993, the police received an anonymous tip that resulted in Nuncio becoming a suspect in the murder. It was later discovered that the tip came from Olga Villalon.

After the police recovered a television, which was identified by Pauline Farris' daughter on Dec. 6, a warrant was issued for Nuncio's arrest. Two days later, police arrested Nuncio after finding him hiding in the closet of a house in Plainview.

At the Plainview Police Department, Nuncio was informed of and voluntarily waived his constitutional rights.

Nuncio then gave police both oral and written statements in which he stated that he had been "messed up" on drugs and alcohol the night of the crime and had decided to break into the Farris's house in order to steal items that he could sell to get money for more drugs.

Nuncio stated that he did not think anyone was home because no one had answered the door earlier. However, after he broke in the back door, he saw the victim and they began fighting.

Nuncio confessed that he hit the woman, kicked her, and kept knocking her down until she no longer attempted to get up. Nuncio then stated that he put two television sets and a stereo on the front porch and found some rings which he put in his pocket.

Nuncio claimed that he looked back at the victim at some point, saw that she was naked, and decided to "have sex" with her. Nuncio also stated in his confession that he was an addict and that he had been molested as a child.

Nuncio further asserted that he did not mean to kill the victim and that he did not know she was dead until he heard about it sometime later. Detective Michael Carroll testified that Nuncio was emotional and crying somewhat during the two-hour period of his post-arrest interview.

After obtaining Nuncio's confession, investigators were given consent to search a house in Plainview where they recovered clothing and boots worn by Nuncio on the night of the murder.

A DNA analysis on a blood sample from Nuncio's boot revealed a 98.8 percent probability of a match to the victim's blood.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A Hale County grand jury indicted Nuncio on Dec. 21, 1993, for the capital offense of murder of Pauline Farris in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of burglary of a habitation, in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of aggravated sexual assault, and in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of robbery.

Nuncio entered a plea of "not guilty," and following a trial in the 64th District Court of Hale County, Texas, a jury convicted Nuncio of capital murder on March 2, 1995.

The jury answered the first special punishment issue affirmatively and the second special punishment issue negatively on March 4, 1995. In accordance with Texas law, the trial court assessed Nuncio's punishment at death on June 30, 1995.

Nuncio automatically appealed his conviction and sentence to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and it was affirmed on Feb. 5, 1997. Nuncio did not file a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.

On Nov. 27, 1996, the Court of Criminal Appeals appointed counsel to represent Nuncio in a state habeas proceeding. After filing an application for writ of habeas corpus in the 64th District Court of Hale County, Texas, on Aug. 20, 1997, Nuncio filed a motion for evidentiary hearing on the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel.

The court granted the motion and conducted an evidentiary hearing on March 3, 6, and 8, 1998, and April 1 and 7, 1998.

On July 15, 1998, the court forwarded its recommendation to deny relief to the Court of Criminal Appeals. On Sept. 23, 1998, the Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the lower court's findings of fact and conclusions of law and denied Nuncio relief on all claims.

Nuncio filed a federal habeas petition on March 1, 1999, and it was denied by the federal district court on May 13, 1999. The district court denied permission to appeal on June 14, 1999.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied permission to appeal on Jan. 24, 2000, and denied rehearing on Feb. 18, 2000. Nuncio has not filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

At the punishment stage of trial, the State showed that Nuncio had previously been convicted of felony theft in 1990. The State further showed that Nuncio was subsequently convicted for misdemeanor thefts in both Hale and Tarrant Counties.

Nuncio's original probation officer, Jim DeWese, characterized Nuncio as a "sorry" probationer who was unable to maintain meaningful employment. DeWese also testified that Nuncio was a dishonest, passive-aggressive type who never learned to obey rules.

Elsa Martinez, who lived with Nuncio for two-and-a-half to three years and had two children by him, testified that Nuncio had a bad temper when he was drunk, which she described as occurring "all the time." She also testified that Nuncio had once struck her.

DRUGS AND/OR ALCOHOL

Nuncio's own confession indicated that he was "messed up" on drugs and alcohol the night of the crime. It was also established that Nuncio had a history of drug and alcohol problems.

ProDeathPenalty.com

Paul Selso Nuncio, a former security guard, was convicted of capital murder in the strangulation death of 61-year-old Pauline Crownover Farris in Plainview, Texas.

Nuncio broke into Pauline's home through the back door and beat her before raping her and strangling her to death. He then stole two television sets, a stereo, a VCR and some jewelry.

He was arrested almost a week after the murder after selling one of the TV's. He admitted to police that he broke into Pauline's home so that he could steal to make money for drugs.

Hale County District Attorney Terry McEachern's voice quivers when he recalls the murder of 61-year-old Pauline Farris at her home in Plainview six and a half years ago. "I've tried over 15 capital murders and this is the very worst capital murder I've ever seen in my life,'' he said this week. "It was animalistic."

Paul Nuncio, 31, convicted of strangling and raping Farris, was set for execution Thursday evening. "He literally beat her face in so she was unrecognizable," McEachern said. "I can't think of a person who doesn't support the death penalty who can look at this in good faith and say this is not a death penalty case."

In a lengthy and rambling final statement, Paul Nuncio, 31, he said he was sorry the victim was murdered but insisted he did not commit the crime. "I don't want you to have guilt of executing someone innocent because I am," he said, directing his comments to the children of the murder victim, Pauline Farris.

He recited the Lord's prayer and then told the witnesses to not be surprised if their mother was with God to greet him when he arrived in heaven. "When your time comes, she will let you know if I am innocent or guilty," he said. The execution was delayed for about and hour until the Supreme Court ruled for the 3rd time on 11th hour appeals filed in his case.

Farris was alone in her house after midnight Dec. 3, 1993 when Nuncio and a group of friends ran to her porch to get out of a rainstorm. When the rain stopped, everyone but Nuncio left, court records show. He showed up a couple of hours later at a motel where he sold a television for $50, then returned with camera, a stereo and some rings.

He showed the buyer his driver's license as identification and wrote the license number on a receipt. The buyer purchased the electronic items and Nuncio threw the rings in the trash.

He convinced a friend to take him to "his house," which really was the Farris home, where he picked up another television and sold it to a friend. The friend 2 days later tipped police that she thought Nuncio was involved in the Farris murder. By then, her body had been found by neighbors.

Texas Execution Information Center

Txexecutions.org

Paul Selso Nuncio, 31, was executed by lethal injection on 15 June in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a 61-year-old woman during a home burglary.

In December 1993, Nuncio broke into the home of Pauline Farris through the back door. He beat Farris, raped her, and strangled her to death with his hands. He then stole several items, including two TV sets, a stereo, a VCR, several rings, and a watch.

Court records show that Nuncio and a group of friends ran to Farris' porch to get out of the rain late one night. When the rain stopped, everyone but Nuncio left. He showed up a couple of hours later at a motel where he sold a television for $50, then returned with a camera and some rings.

He showed the buyer his drivers' license and wrote the number on a receipt. The buyer purchased the electronic items and Nuncio threw the rings in the trash. He then convinced a friend to take him to "his house", which was really Farris' house, where he took another television and sold it to a friend. Two days later, the friend tipped police that she thought Nuncio was involved in Farris' murder.

After his arrest, Nuncio told police that he was high on drugs and alcohol at the time of the crime and broke into the house to steal items to sell for money to buy drugs. He said he broke through the back door, saw the woman, beat her until she couldn't get up, strangled her, took the items, then raped her.

A DNA analysis of blood from Nuncio's boot showed a nearly 99 percent match to the victim's blood. The district attorney called it "the very worst capital murder I've sever seen in my life. It was animalistic. He literally beat her face in so she was unrecognizable."

Nuncio was on probation at the time of the killing for a felony theft conviction and had two misdemeanor theft convictions. He did not have a prison record.

In a death-row interview, Nuncio denied the entire incident. He acknowledged being at Farris' house that night and being high on drugs, of trying to steal her car, and of selling her televisions, "but I didn't know it came from her," he said.

The execution was delayed for about an hour so the Supreme Court could rule for the third time on an 11th-hour appeal filed in his case. In his final statement, he insisted he was innocent and recited the Lord's Prayer. He was pronounced dead at 7:17 p.m.

Burglar Executed for Killing Plainview Woman in 1995

By Michael Graczyk - Abeline Reporter News.com

Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A former security guard convicted of raping and strangling a 61-year-old West Texas woman while high on drugs and alcohol was executed Thursday evening.

In a lengthy and rambling final statement, Paul Nuncio, 31, he said he was sorry the victim was murdered but insisted he did not commit the crime. “I don't want you to have guilt of executing someone innocent because I am,” he said, directing his comments to the children of the murder victim, Pauline Farris.

He recited the Lord's prayer and then told the witnesses to not be surprised if their mother was with God to greet him when he arrived in heaven. “When your time comes, she will let you know if I am innocent or guilty,” he said.

As the drug took effect, he coughed twice, then sputtered and gasped. He was pronounced dead seven minutes later at 7:17 p.m. CDT. “I don't believe my mother will be reaching her hand out,” Becky Farris Payne, the victim's daughter, said after watching Nuncio die. “He wasn't ready to die. She wasn't ready to die. He took her away from us.”

The execution was delayed for about and hour until the Supreme Court ruled for the third time on 11th hour appeals filed in his case. “He ended up with a whole lot more chances than she did,” Eddie Farris, the victim's son, said. “He was given several appeals. My mother didn't get appeals.”

Nuncio was condemned for killing Farris at her Plainview home 6 1/2 years ago.

“I've tried over 15 capital murders and this is the very worst capital murder I've ever seen in my life,” Hale County District Attorney Terry said this week. “It was animalistic.” “He literally beat her face in so she was unrecognizable,” McEachern added. “I can't think of a person who doesn't support the death penalty who can look at this in good faith and say this is not a death penalty case.”

Farris was alone in her house after midnight Dec. 3, 1993 when Nuncio and a group of friends ran to her porch to get out of a rainstorm. When the rain stopped, everyone but Nuncio left, court records show.

He showed up a couple of hours later at a motel where he sold a television for $50, then returned with camera, a stereo and some rings. He showed the buyer his driver's license as identification and wrote the license number on a receipt. The buyer purchased the electronic items and Nuncio threw the rings in the trash.

He convinced a friend to take him to “his house,” which really was the Farris home, where he picked up another television and sold it to a friend. The friend two days later tipped police that she thought Nuncio was involved in the Farris murder. By then, her body had been found by neighbors.

Farris' daughter identified the television as belonging to her mother and a warrant was issued for Nuncio's arrest in Plainview, about halfway between Amarillo and Lubbock. In a statement to police, he said he was high on drugs and alcohol, didn't think anyone was home at the time and decided to break into Farris' house to steal items he could sell for money for more drugs.

He said he saw the woman after he broke through the back door, beat her until she couldn't get up, strangled her, took the electronic items and her rings, then raped her. “We placed him with items in the house, we had people's testimony,” McEachern said. A DNA analysis of blood from Nuncio's boot showed a nearly 99 percent match to the victim's blood. “It was a strong case,” the prosecutor said.

In a death row interview, Nuncio acknowledged drinking beer and being high on drugs — “I was buzzing,” he said — and of trying to steal Farris' car from her driveway, but denied killing her. “It's in God's eyes, too,” he said. “He knows I'm innocent. I'm not afraid. He's given me strength.” He said he did try to sell the televisions “but I didn't know it came from her.”

Nuncio, who worked as a security guard at a milling company, was an eighth-grade dropout who grew up in Frederick, Okla., about 65 miles northwest of Wichita Falls.

He was on probation at the time of the killing for a felony theft conviction and had misdemeanor theft convictions in Hale and Tarrant counties. Nuncio was the second Texas inmate to be executed in as many days, the third this week and the 22nd this year.