Editor’s note: The State of Texas executed Travis Mullis on Sept. 24. He was pronounced dead at 7:01 p.m. Some readers may find the content in this article disturbing.
16 years after the body of an infant was found along Seawall Blvd. in Galveston, the father of the child is scheduled for execution in Huntsville. Travis James Mullis, 38, was convicted of the 2008 capital murder of his 3-month-old son, Alijah.
Mullis confessed to the crime after driving for three days and eventually winding up at a police station in Philadelphia. Court records read Mullis walked into the police station and told an officer he believed he was wanted in Texas on murder charges. Mullis then wrote a six-page long statement and gave an hour-long videotaped confession to two homicide detectives.
“I regret everything that I’ve done, and I’m willing to take any and all consequences that come about the situation,” Mullis said during his confession on Feb. 1, 2008.
Mullis explained on Jan. 29, 2008, he, his girlfriend and newborn son were living with a friend because they didn’t have money for a place of their own. Around 2 a.m., his girlfriend asked him to go to the store to get cigarettes and candy bars. Mullis said he woke up his friend’s 8-year-old daughter and asked her to accompany him to the store. Mullis said on the way back from the store he stopped at the little girl’s school, and they both walked to the playground.
“At that time, I had asked her to take her pants off, she said, ‘no.’ She started to cry, she got scared, I also got startled,” Mullis told detectives. “I was upset about what I was doing. I knew that it was wrong. So, I told her, ‘Let’s just go home.’”
Mullis said he was having “flashbacks” to when he was molested as a child.
“I felt that I was going to get rid of the flashbacks by, you know, acting on them, but when I got to the point where I was ready to act on them, I changed my mind knowing that it was wrong,” Mullis said.
Mullis said when he returned home, he told his girlfriend what happened.
“She got scared that we were going to be thrown out of the house because of that, she was also scared that I was, you know, that I might try to do it again. At that time, I told her that I wanted to get help and that I needed to get help, you know, before I relapse,” Mullis told investigators.
Mullis said he told his girlfriend he needed to leave for a little while to figure out next steps and make arrangements to find a place to live if they get kicked out of their friend’s trailer home.
“She told me to take Alijah with me because that way she, you know, she knows that I’m going to come back,” said Mullis.
Mullis said he then drove from Brazoria County to an isolated spot on the east end of Galveston while his son was asleep in the back seat. Mullis said his son then woke up and started crying. Mullis said he then hopped in the back seat and tried to console his son, but nothing worked.
“I had hit my breaking point with stress, and I was, you know, scared. I was panicking, I, you know, hit my breaking point and I broke at that point, I felt that the only way to make him stop crying was to kill him,” Mullis confessed.
Mullis said he strangled his son then stomped on his skull before throwing his body on the side of the road. Alijah’s body was found, along with his car seat and other items, by a passer-by. After killing his son, Mullis said he contemplated suicide before driving out of state and stopping at different churches where he got help with gas money and food. Mullis said he also pawned the car’s stereo for quick cash.
“I was scared to go to prison, and I was scared of the consequences for what I had done,” Mullis said.
Mullis told detectives he was heading to Abingdon, Maryland, where he grew up. Mullis said he met with his old “mentor” before eventually driving to Philadelphia and surrendering to police. Mullis was then convicted in 2011 of capital murder. While he made no mention in his confession, prosecutors said Mullis also molested his infant son.
Court documents show Mullis waived his rights to appeal, but defense attorneys argued his case should still receive a constitutional review as is done with every death penalty case. Court records read defense attorneys argued Mullis’ mental health should be examined as well as whether he was competent to make the decision to waive his appellate rights.
Mullis was examined by a doctor who stated that while he did show some signs of mental illness, he was competent. His execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
