Garcia Glenn White Executed in Texas For The Murders of Twin Teenage Girls | US Death Row

On October 1st, 2024, at exactly 6:56 p.m., Garcia Glenn White was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary. He was 61 years old. He had spent 28 years on death row, and in his final moments, he sang a hymn called “I Trust in God” as lethal drugs flowed through his veins.

But this isn’t just another execution story. This is the story of how one man’s addiction to crack cocaine led to five brutal murders. How a football player with dreams of college glory became one of Texas’s most prolific killers. And how the families of his victims waited three decades for justice.

What you’re about to hear involves twin teenage girls, a locked bedroom door that was broken down, and a crime scene so horrific that it would haunt investigators for years. Stay with me because this case has twists you won’t believe. Welcome back to the channel. If you’re new here, this is where we dive deep into true crime cases with respect for the victims and a commitment to telling the complete story.

All right, let’s get into the Garcia Glenn White case—a story that spans 35 years from 1989 to 2024. To understand how this story ends, we need to understand where it began. Garcia Glenn White was born on February 4th, 1963, in Houston, Texas. And for a while, his life looked promising. He attended Wheatley High School, where he wasn’t just another student. He was known for his love of football. The game was his passion, his ticket out, his future. And it worked. White’s talent on the field earned him a spot at Lubbock Christian University. This was it. This was the dream: college football, a potential professional career, everything a young man from Houston could hope for.

But then tragedy struck in the form of a knee injury. It was severe enough to end his football career before it really began. Just like that, the dream was over. White had to drop out of college and return to Houston, where he worked menial jobs. A fry cook, a house painter, a sandblaster. These were the jobs that were supposed to be temporary, the ones you take while pursuing something bigger. But there was nothing bigger anymore. It was during this period of disappointment and lost dreams that Garcia Glenn White found crack cocaine. Or perhaps crack cocaine found him. Either way, the addiction took hold quickly and completely.

There’s another detail in White’s history that’s worth noting: he experienced a brain injury after being hit with a baseball bat. We don’t know exactly when this happened or the full circumstances, but it’s part of the puzzle of who Garcia Glenn White became. Here was a man who had potential, who had dreams, who had a path forward, and then, through a combination of injury, circumstance, and choices, he became something else entirely.

By 1989, Garcia Glenn White was deep in his crack addiction. And that’s when the killing began. November 1989, Houston, Texas. Greta Williams was 27 years old when Garcia Glenn White beat her to death during an argument over money. After killing her, White rolled her body up in a carpet, a detail that speaks to a chilling level of detachment. But here’s what’s shocking: White was a suspect. The police knew about his connection to Greta Williams. The case went before a grand jury, and they declined to indict him. Think about that for a moment. Garcia Glenn White literally got away with murder. There wasn’t enough evidence, or the case wasn’t strong enough, or something went wrong in the process. Whatever the reason, White walked free after killing Greta Williams.

This is one of those tragic “what-if” moments in true crime. What if that grand jury had indicted him? What if he’d been arrested and prosecuted for Greta Williams’ murder? Because just one month later, three more people would be dead. Greta Williams’ family would have to wait 35 years for any semblance of justice. Her sister, DeWanda, would eventually say about White’s execution, “It’s a long time coming. Hopefully, he’s made peace with his maker. It’s time to go.” But in November 1989, all DeWanda knew was that her sister was dead and no one was being held accountable.

One month after Greta Williams’ death, between November 29th and December 2nd, 1989, Garcia Glenn White committed the murders that would eventually send him to death row. The victims were Bonita Edwards, 38 years old, and her twin daughters, Annette and Bernette Edwards, both just 16 years old. Here’s how it happened. White went to the Edwards family’s Houston apartment to smoke crack cocaine with Bonita. This wasn’t unusual. They knew each other, and Bonita apparently used drugs as well. But on this night, something went terribly wrong. White attacked and fatally stabbed Bonita Edwards multiple times in the neck and chest. The violence was extreme and brutal.

But then—and this is where this case becomes particularly horrific—Annette and Bernette, the twin daughters, came out of their bedroom to see what was happening. Maybe they heard their mother screaming. Maybe they heard the struggle. We’ll never know exactly what drew them out of their room. What we do know is that when those teenage girls emerged, White attacked them, too. The twins tried to retreat to their bedroom. They locked the door, but White broke it down. He pursued them into that room, and he stabbed both girls multiple times in the neck and chest.

The crime scene was devastating. When Houston Police Department Officer Leonard Dawson arrived at approximately 2:45 p.m., he found three dead females inside the apartment. Evidence suggested that White may have sexually assaulted one of the children. Forensic testing would later reveal that semen recovered from a bedsheet was consistent with White’s DNA, and blood from the same sheet was consistent with either Annette’s or Bernette’s DNA. Three people murdered in one night. A mother and her twin teenage daughters. All stabbed multiple times. A locked bedroom door broken down. The level of violence was extreme, and the scene was chaotic and brutal.

But who discovered them? Bonita Edwards had a boyfriend named King Solomon. After several days of being unable to contact Bonita, Solomon became worried. He asked the apartment manager to open the door to the apartment. When that door opened, King Solomon saw two bodies lying on the floor. Imagine that moment, the horror of it, the immediate knowledge that something unspeakable had happened. The police were called. The investigation began. But here’s the thing: this case would go unsolved for six years. For six years, the killer of Bonita, Annette, and Bernette Edwards walked free.

July 1995, six years after the Edwards family murders. Hai Van Pham was living the American dream, or trying to. He was a Vietnamese immigrant who had moved to the United States just nine months earlier with his family. He was a father working hard to build a new life, and he’d opened a convenience store. Garcia Glenn White walked into that convenience store and beat Hai Van Pham to death during a robbery. Another victim, another family destroyed, another murder that White thought he’d gotten away with.

But this time, something different happened. In 1996, police were interviewing people about the Hai Van Pham murder. One of those people was a man named Tecumseh Manuel, a friend of Garcia Glenn White. And during that interview, Tecumseh Manuel told police something that would break the case wide open: Garcia Glenn White had admitted to killing the Edwards family and Greta Williams. Finally, after six years, investigators had a lead in the Edwards murders.

When police confronted White, he initially tried to deflect. He claimed that a man named Terrence Moore was responsible for the Edwards murders. But investigators did their homework. They discovered that Terrence Moore had been killed four months before the Edwards murders even occurred. When confronted with this lie, White’s story fell apart. And then he confessed. He confessed to killing Bonita Edwards. He confessed to killing Annette Edwards. He confessed to killing Bernette Edwards. He admitted to all of it. The forensic evidence backed up his confession. The DNA from the bedsheet matched. The timeline matched. Everything fit.

After six years, the Edwards family murders were solved. And Garcia Glenn White was about to face justice—not for all five of his victims, but for two of them: the twin girls, Annette and Bernette Edwards. The legal process moved quickly once White confessed. On May 28th, 1996, a Harris County grand jury indicted Garcia Glenn White for murdering Annette Edwards and Bernette Edwards in the same criminal transaction. This was a capital murder charge, which meant White was facing the death penalty.

On July 18th, 1996, less than two months later, a Harris County jury convicted Garcia Glenn White of capital murder. But the trial wasn’t over. In death penalty cases, there’s a separate punishment phase where the jury decides whether the defendant should be sentenced to death or life in prison. During this penalty phase, the jury learned something crucial: the Edwards twins weren’t White’s only victims. Prosecutors presented evidence about Greta Williams, the 27-year-old woman White had beaten to death and rolled up in a carpet back in 1989—the murder for which he was never charged. They also presented evidence about Hai Van Pham, the convenience store owner White had beaten to death during a robbery in 1995—another murder for which he was never charged.

White had confessed to both of these murders. And now, even though he wasn’t on trial for them, the jury could consider them when deciding his punishment. Think about what that jury was hearing. They’d already convicted White of brutally murdering two 16-year-old twin girls. And now they were learning that he’d killed at least three other people: five murders total, a pattern of violence spanning six years. On July 23rd, 1996, the jury sentenced Garcia Glenn White to death. He was 33 years old. He would spend the next 28 years on death row.

Over the next 28 years, Garcia Glenn White filed numerous appeals. This is standard in death penalty cases. Every avenue must be explored. Every argument must be made. The wheels of justice in capital cases turn slowly, deliberately. His direct appeal was affirmed on June 17th, 1998. His initial habeas corpus petition was denied on February 21st, 2001. Multiple subsequent applications were dismissed over the years. But then, on January 27th, 2015, one day before White was scheduled to be executed, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay. They wanted to review new claims made by White’s attorneys. White’s execution was postponed. His life was extended, at least temporarily, for nine more years.

The legal battles continued. In 2024, as a new execution date approached, White’s lawyers made several arguments. First, they argued that White was intellectually disabled and that Texas’s top criminal appeals court had refused to accept medical evidence showing this. Executing someone who is intellectually disabled is unconstitutional under US law. Second, they argued that White had experienced a cocaine-induced psychotic break during the murders. This wasn’t an excuse, but it was potentially a mitigating factor. Third, they pointed to DNA evidence that they claimed suggested another person might have been at the crime scene. These were not frivolous arguments. These were serious legal claims that deserved consideration.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles considered White’s request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty or to grant him a 30-day reprieve. On Friday, September 27th, 2024, they denied both requests. White’s attorneys filed three last-ditch appeals to the US Supreme Court. On October 1st, 2024, the Supreme Court, without comment, rejected all three appeals. Garcia Glenn White’s final day had arrived.

Garcia Glenn White spent the three days leading up to his execution talking with visitors and other incarcerated people. On Saturday night, as a federal court considered whether to grant a stay, he prayed. On Monday night, his last night alive, White wrote from his bed at the Polunsky Unit. He stayed awake for most of the night, packing up his cell and reading. There’s something profound about those final hours. What do you think about when you know exactly when you’re going to die? What do you read? What do you write? Who do you think about?

White made a decision about his execution that speaks volumes. None of his family or friends witnessed it. According to his attorney, this was White’s choice. He wanted to spare them from seeing him put to death. So, when Garcia Glenn White was moved to the death chamber at the Huntsville Unit on October 1st, 2024, there were witnesses, but none of them were there for him. Five members of Greta Williams’ family were there; they’d waited 35 years for this moment. Two members of Hai Van Pham’s family were there; they’d waited 29 years. The Edwards family—Bonita, Annette, and Bernette—had no one there to represent them. No family members attended, but they were the reason White was on that gurney. Their murders were the ones he’d been convicted for.

Also present was Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who would later speak about the decades it took to carry out the jury’s verdict. It’s worth noting that Texas discontinued honoring last meal requests back in 2011. So, White didn’t receive a special final meal. That tradition, which had been a small gesture of humanity in the execution process, had been eliminated 13 years earlier.

At 6:39 p.m. on October 1st, 2024, the warden asked Garcia Glenn White if he had any final words. White’s complete final statement was recorded by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Here’s what he said: “Yes, ma’am. First, I would like to apologize for all the wrong I have done and for the pain I’ve caused to the Edwards family. I regret, I apologize, and I pray that you can find peace, comfort, and closure in your heart for the wrong I have done and the pain I have caused you and anybody else I’ve caused pain to. I just want to apologize. I take responsibility for it.” He apologized profusely to the family of Bonita Edwards and her twin girls, but they weren’t there to hear his words.

And then Garcia Glenn White sang. He sang the hymn “I Trust in God” as the lethal drugs were prepared. Think about that moment. A man who had taken five lives, who had broken down a locked door to murder teenage girls, who had beaten an immigrant father to death during a robbery. In his final moments, he sang a hymn about trusting in God. White concluded his final statement with messages to fellow inmates and prison staff, thanking the guards for treating inmates like human beings.

At 6:39 p.m., the lethal dose of pentobarbital, a sedative, began flowing into White’s veins. Within 2 to 3 minutes, his breathing appeared to have ceased. At 6:56 p.m., Garcia Glenn White was declared dead. He was 61 years old. He had spent 28 years on death row, more than half the time since he’d committed the Edwards family murders.

After the execution, the families of White’s victims had different responses. DeWanda, sister of Greta Williams, had said before the execution, “It’s a long time coming. Hopefully, he’s made peace with his maker. It’s time to go.” The families of both Greta Williams and Hai Van Pham witnessed the execution but declined to make public statements afterward. The Edwards family, whose murders had sent White to death row, did not attend and made no public statements. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who witnessed White’s death, spoke to reporters afterward. She lamented that it had taken some 30 years to carry out the jury’s death verdict as multiple appeals worked through the courts. “The suffering of surviving family members is just unspeakable,” she said.

At least it’s over for the families. Does it ever really end? Does watching the killer die bring closure? Does it bring peace? DeWanda Washington waited 35 years to seek justice for her sister Greta. The Pham family waited 29 years. And the Edwards family, they waited 28 years after White’s conviction, 35 years after the murders. These families had to live with their loss for decades. While the legal process slowly moved forward, birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings—all of these moments happened without their loved ones. And all the while they knew the man who killed them was alive, filing appeals, living on death row.

As we look at the Garcia Glenn White case, several patterns and questions emerge. First, there’s the “what if” of the Greta Williams case. What if that grand jury had indicted White in 1989? Would Bonita, Annette, and Bernette Edwards still be alive? Would Hai Van Pham still be alive? This is the painful reality of the criminal justice system. Sometimes we don’t get it right the first time, and people die as a result.

Second, there’s the role of addiction. White’s descent into crack cocaine addiction appears to have been the catalyst for his violence. This doesn’t excuse his actions. Millions of people struggle with addiction and don’t murder anyone. But it does raise questions about how we address addiction as a society and whether earlier intervention could prevent some crimes.

Third, there’s the long gap between crime and punishment. White committed the Edwards murders in 1989. He was convicted in 1996. He was executed in 2024. That’s 35 years from crime to execution, 28 years from conviction to execution. For some, this lengthy appeals process is essential to ensure we don’t execute innocent people. For others, it represents a failure of the justice system to deliver timely accountability.

Fourth, there are the victims we forget. White was convicted only for the Edwards murders. He was never charged with killing Greta Williams or Hai Van Pham. While the jury heard about these murders during the penalty phase, White never formally faced justice for these crimes. This is common in the legal system. Prosecutors often charge the strongest case rather than every crime, but it means some victims and their families never get their full day in court.

Before we close, I want to spend a moment on the people whose lives were taken. Greta Williams was 27 years old when she died in November 1989. She had a sister, DeWanda, and siblings who loved her. She had a life ahead of her. Over an argument about money, that life was taken, and her family had to wait 35 years to see anyone held accountable.

Bonita Edwards was 38 years old when she was murdered in her own apartment in December 1989. She was a mother raising twin teenage daughters. Whatever struggles she had, whatever choices she made, she didn’t deserve to be stabbed to death. Annette Edwards and Bernette Edwards were just 16 years old. They were twins starting their lives, full of potential.

Hai Van Pham had moved to the United States just 9 months before his death in July 1995. He was chasing the American dream, trying to build a better life for his family. He was a father. He owned a convenience store. And during a robbery, Garcia Glenn White beat him to death. Think about Hai Van Pham’s family. They came to America for a better life. And within nine months, their father and husband was murdered. That trauma, that loss, it shapes everything that comes after.

These are the five people Garcia Glenn White took from the world. Five lives, five families forever changed. Countless ripple effects of grief and loss. On October 1st, 2024, at 6:56 p.m., Garcia Glenn White’s story ended. But for the families of Greta Williams, Bonita Edwards, Annette Edwards, Bernette Edwards, and Hai Van Pham, the impact of his actions will continue forever.

Thank you for watching.