Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena murdered while walking near Houston park 25 years ago

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Monday, June 18, 2018
The brutal murder of two teens rocked Houston 25 years ago
Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were raped, tortured and murdered by gang members while walking near TC Jester on June 24, 1993.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In 1993, the murders of two teenage girls rocked Houston and attracted national attention for its brutality.

Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, were raped, tortured and murdered by gang members while walking near TC Jester on June 24, 1993.

Police said the Waltrip High School students were ambushed by their killers at some railroad tracks near Northwest Park.

The girls' bodies were found decomposing in the blazing Houston heat four days later after the pair failed to return home.

Six men were either executed or sentenced to life in prison for the murders.

Derrick O'Brien became the first of the gang members executed in 2006. Jose Medellin was put to death in 2008, followed by the 2010 execution of Peter Anthony Cantu, who was accused of being the gang's ringleader.

Two others, Efrain Perez and Raul Villarreal, both 17 at the time of the killings, had their death sentences commuted to life in prison in 2005.

Medellin's brother, Vernancio, who was 14 at the time, is serving a 40-year prison term, the maximum for a juvenile.

Watch the video above for archival footage of Eyewitness News reports of the teens' tragic killings.

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