22 April 2023 :
(April 19, 2023) - Execution date for Ivan Cantu withdrawn
A Collin County judge on Wednesday withdrew the execution date for Ivan Cantu.
Cantu, 49, Black, had been accused of killing his cousin, James Mosqueda, 27, during a botched robbery on November 4, 2000. He was also indicted in the death of his cousin’s 22-year-old girlfriend Amy Kitchen. His execution had been scheduled for April 26.
Court documents show District Judge Benjamin Smith approved the motion for withdrawal of execution filed Tuesday. Cantu’s execution was previously set for 2011, but was stayed then as well.
In the motion requesting the judge to withdraw the most recent execution date, Cantu’s attorney said “substantial new evidence” showed Amy Boettcher, a key witness for the prosecution and Cantu’s then-girlfriend, made false statements during her testimony.
Among the examples of false testimony the document listed was Boettcher’s claim that she saw Cantu “wear and dispose” a watch that was previously reported missing, but later found by investigators inside Mosqueda’s home and returned to the victim’s family. Cantu’s attorney also claimed that Boettcher falsely testified that Cantu proposed to her with a diamond ring stolen from Kitchen’s body.
“Witnesses have since come forward stating that Mr. Cantu and Amy Boettcher announced their engagement and showed off Amy Boettcher’s engagement ring a week before the murders,” the documents stated.
New evidence from forensic pathologists also contradicted the timeline of the murders presented by Boettcher, the document stated.
