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{{Infobox criminal |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Karla Tucker was born and raised in [[Houston, Texas]], the youngest of three sisters. Her father Larry was a [[longshoreman]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/tucker437.htm|title=Karla Faye Tucker #437|website=www.clarkprosecutor.org|access-date=2019-02-26}}</ref> The marriage of her parents was |
Karla Tucker was born and raised in [[Houston, Texas]], the youngest of three sisters. Her father Larry was a [[longshoreman]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/tucker437.htm|title=Karla Faye Tucker #437|website=www.clarkprosecutor.org|access-date=2019-02-26}}</ref> The marriage of her parents was troubled, and Tucker started smoking cigarettes with her sisters when she was eight years old.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rebelcircus.com/blog/karla-faye-tucker-the-first-woman-executed-in-texas-who-went-from-being-a-hatchet-wielding-murderer-to-a-born-again-christian/|title=Karla Faye Tucker, First Woman Executed in Texas: From Murderer to Christian|date=2017-08-17|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-26}}</ref> During her parents' divorce proceedings when she was 10 years old, Tucker learned that her birth was the result of an extramarital affair.<ref>[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/tucker/2.html Karla Faye Tucker: Texas' Controversial Murdress, "Chapter 2: Early Days, Dark Days"] from Crime Library {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210051436/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/tucker/2.html |date=February 10, 2015 }}</ref> |
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By age 12, she had begun taking drugs and having sex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/21/larry.king.tucker/|title=Karla Faye Tucker: |
By age 12, she had begun taking drugs and having sex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/21/larry.king.tucker/|title= Karla Faye Tucker: Born again on death row|publisher=CNN|date=March 26, 2007|access-date=2019-02-26}}</ref> She dropped out of school at age 14 and followed her mother Carolyn, a rock [[groupie]], into prostitution<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/01/25/pro-death-penalty-but-chivalrous-texans-debate-fate-of-karla-faye-tucker/a21c62bf-5c89-4df9-bbda-6ed714a5311b/|title=PRO-DEATH PENALTY BUT CHIVALROUS TEXANS DEBATE FATE OF KARLA FAYE TUCKER|last=Pressley|first=Sue Anne|date=|website=The Washington Post|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> and began traveling with the [[Allman Brothers|Allman Brothers Band]], [[The Marshall Tucker Band]], and the [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]]. At 16, she was briefly married to a mechanic named Stephen Griffith. When she was in her early 20s, she began hanging out with bikers and met a woman named Shawn Dean and her husband Jerry Lynn Dean. The couple introduced her in 1981 to a man named Daniel Ryan Garrett (Danny Garrett). Then 21 years old, Tucker started dating 35-year-old Garrett.<ref>[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17670 Death in Texas] from the [[New York Review of Books]].</ref><ref name="New York Times 2">{{cite news|last1=Kakutani|first1=Michiko|title=Books of The Times; Why Did She Kill? It Just Sort of Happened|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/11/books/books-of-the-times-why-did-she-kill-it-just-sort-of-happened.html|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=August 11, 1992}}</ref> |
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==Murders== |
==Murders== |
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After spending the weekend using drugs with Garrett and their friends, Tucker and Garrett entered Jerry Dean's apartment in [[Houston, Texas]] around 3 a.m. on Monday, June 13, 1983, intending to steal a motorcycle that Dean was restoring |
After spending the weekend using drugs with Garrett and their friends, Tucker and Garrett entered Jerry Dean's apartment in [[Houston, Texas]] around 3 a.m. on Monday, June 13, 1983, intending to steal a motorcycle that Dean was restoring there. James Liebrandt, a friend, went with them to Dean's apartment complex. Liebrandt reported that he went looking for Dean's [[Chevrolet El Camino|El Camino]] while Tucker and Garrett entered the apartment with a set of keys that Tucker claimed Shawn Dean had lost and Tucker had found.<ref name="Find A Case">{{cite web|title=FindACase™ {{!}} DANIEL RYAN GARRETT v. STATE TEXAS (01/13/93)|url=http://tx.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19930113_0040032.TX.htm/qx|website=tx.findacase.com|accessdate=May 20, 2017|language=en|date=January 13, 1993}}</ref> |
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During the burglary, Tucker and Garrett entered Dean's bedroom, where Tucker sat on him. In an effort to protect himself, Dean grabbed Tucker above the elbows, whereupon Garrett intervened. Garrett struck Dean numerous times in the back of the head with a [[ball-peen hammer]] that he found on the floor. After hitting Dean, Garrett left the room to carry motorcycle parts out of the apartment. Tucker remained in the bedroom. |
During the burglary, Tucker and Garrett entered Dean's bedroom, where Tucker sat on him. In an effort to protect himself, Dean grabbed Tucker above the elbows, whereupon Garrett intervened. Garrett struck Dean numerous times in the back of the head with a [[ball-peen hammer]] that he found on the floor. After hitting Dean, Garrett left the room to carry motorcycle parts out of the apartment. Tucker remained in the bedroom. |
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The blows Garrett had dealt Dean caused him to begin making a "gurgling" sound. Tucker wanted to "stop him from making that noise" and she then picked up a three-foot [[pickaxe]] that was laying against the wall and began hitting Dean. Garrett then re-entered the room and dealt Dean a final blow in the chest.<ref name="Find A Case" /> |
The blows Garrett had dealt Dean caused him to begin making a "gurgling" sound. Tucker wanted to "stop him from making that noise" and she then picked up a three-foot [[pickaxe]] that was laying against the wall and began hitting Dean. Garrett then re-entered the room and dealt Dean a final blow in the chest.<ref name="Find A Case" /> |
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Garrett left the bedroom again to continue loading Dean's motorcycle parts into his [[Ford Ranchero]]. Tucker was once again left in the room and only then noticed a woman who had hidden under the bed covers against the wall. The woman, Deborah Ruth Thornton had argued with her husband the day before, went to a party and ended up spending the night in Dean's bed.<ref name="L.A. Times">{{cite news|last1=KATZ|first1=JESSE|title=Should Karla Faye Tucker Be Executed?|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/09/news/mn-6616|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 9, 1998|location=GATESVILLE, Texas}}</ref><ref name="People">{{cite news|last1=HEWITT|first1=BELL|title=Reborn Too Late – Vol. 49 No. 4|url=http://people.com/archive/reborn-too-late-vol-49-no-4/|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=PEOPLE.com|publisher=Time Inc.|date=February 2, 1998}}</ref> Upon discovering Thornton, Tucker grazed her shoulder with the pickaxe. Thornton and Tucker began to struggle, but Garrett returned and separated them. Tucker proceeded to hit Thornton repeatedly with the [[pickaxe]] and then embedded the axe in her heart. Tucker would later tell people and testify that she experienced intense multiple orgasms with each blow of the pickaxe.<ref name="PASS">{{cite web| last=Stewart|first=Steven| title=Karla Faye Tucker| url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/tucker437.htm| work=Women Executed Since 1976| publisher=Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney| accessdate=June 14, 2011| location=Jeffersonville, Indiana| date=February 3, 1998}}</ref><ref name=TruTV>{{cite web|last=Geringer |first=Joseph |title=Texas' Controversial Murderess |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/1.html |work=Women Who Kill |publisher=[[TruTV]] |accessdate=June 14, 2011 |location=Huntsville, Tx |date=February 3, 1998 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519084643/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/1.html |archivedate=May 19, 2011 |
Garrett left the bedroom again to continue loading Dean's motorcycle parts into his [[Ford Ranchero]]. Tucker was once again left in the room and only then noticed a woman who had hidden under the bed covers against the wall. The woman, Deborah Ruth Thornton had argued with her husband the day before, went to a party and ended up spending the night in Dean's bed.<ref name="L.A. Times">{{cite news|last1=KATZ|first1=JESSE|title=Should Karla Faye Tucker Be Executed?|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/09/news/mn-6616|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 9, 1998|location=GATESVILLE, Texas}}</ref><ref name="People">{{cite news|last1=HEWITT|first1=BELL|title=Reborn Too Late – Vol. 49 No. 4|url=http://people.com/archive/reborn-too-late-vol-49-no-4/|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=PEOPLE.com|publisher=Time Inc.|date=February 2, 1998}}</ref> Upon discovering Thornton, Tucker grazed her shoulder with the pickaxe. Thornton and Tucker began to struggle, but Garrett returned and separated them. Tucker proceeded to hit Thornton repeatedly with the [[pickaxe]] and then embedded the axe in her heart. Tucker would later tell people and testify that she experienced intense multiple orgasms with each blow of the pickaxe.<ref name="PASS">{{cite web| last=Stewart|first=Steven| title=Karla Faye Tucker| url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/tucker437.htm| work=Women Executed Since 1976| publisher=Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney| accessdate=June 14, 2011| location=Jeffersonville, Indiana| date=February 3, 1998}}</ref><ref name=TruTV>{{cite web|last=Geringer |first=Joseph |title=Texas' Controversial Murderess |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/1.html |work=Women Who Kill |publisher=[[TruTV]] |accessdate=June 14, 2011 |location=Huntsville, Tx |date=February 3, 1998 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519084643/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/1.html |archivedate=May 19, 2011}}</ref> |
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The next morning, one of Dean's co-workers who had been waiting for a ride entered the apartment and discovered the victims' bodies. Police investigation led to the arrests of Tucker and Garrett, five weeks after the killings.<ref>[[Beverly Lowry|Lowry, Beverly]]. [https://books.google.com/books/about/Crossed_over.html?id=morZAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y ''Crossed Over: A Murder, A Memoir''], New York: 1992, {{ISBN|978-0679411840}}{{page needed|date=January 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news|title=BBC NEWS {{!}} Special Report {{!}} 1998 {{!}} Karla Faye Tucker {{!}} A crime that shocked America|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/karla_faye_tucker/48796.stm|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=news.bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC News|date=January 30, 1998}}</ref> |
The next morning, one of Dean's co-workers who had been waiting for a ride entered the apartment and discovered the victims' bodies. Police investigation led to the arrests of Tucker and Garrett, five weeks after the killings.<ref>[[Beverly Lowry|Lowry, Beverly]]. [https://books.google.com/books/about/Crossed_over.html?id=morZAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y ''Crossed Over: A Murder, A Memoir''], New York: 1992, {{ISBN|978-0679411840}}{{page needed|date=January 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news|title=BBC NEWS {{!}} Special Report {{!}} 1998 {{!}} Karla Faye Tucker {{!}} A crime that shocked America|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/karla_faye_tucker/48796.stm|accessdate=May 20, 2017|work=news.bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC News|date=January 30, 1998}}</ref> |
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===Execution=== |
===Execution=== |
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While on death row, Tucker was incarcerated in the [[Mountain View Unit]] in [[Gatesville, Texas]].<ref>Geringer, Joseph. "[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/3.html Legal Tactics, Back and Forth]." ''Karla Faye Tucker: Texas' Controversial Murderess''. Crime Library. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001184548/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/3.html |date=October 1, 2012 }}</ref> She became [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]] (TDCJ) Death Row Inmate #777.<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/tucker.jpg Karla Faye Tucker]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611201339/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/tucker.jpg |date=June 11, 2011 |
While on death row, Tucker was incarcerated in the [[Mountain View Unit]] in [[Gatesville, Texas]].<ref>Geringer, Joseph. "[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/3.html Legal Tactics, Back and Forth]." ''Karla Faye Tucker: Texas' Controversial Murderess''. Crime Library. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001184548/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/tucker/3.html |date=October 1, 2012 }}</ref> She became [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]] (TDCJ) Death Row Inmate #777.<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/tucker.jpg Karla Faye Tucker]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611201339/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/tucker.jpg |date=June 11, 2011}}</ref> |
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[[File:HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg|thumb|[[Huntsville Unit]], the site of Texas' [[execution chamber]]]] |
[[File:HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg|thumb|[[Huntsville Unit]], the site of Texas' [[execution chamber]]]] |
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On February 2, 1998, state authorities took Tucker from the unit in Gatesville and flew her on a TDCJ aircraft,<ref>Hoppe, Christy. "[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3DA8B57818DA2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Board unanimously rejects Tucker's plea for clemency Federal courts, governor could delay execution]." ''The Dallas Morning News''. February 3, 1998. Retrieved on November 19, 2010. "...on a prison agency plane from the women's death row prison in Gatesville to..."{{dead link|date=February 2016}}</ref> transporting her to the [[Huntsville Unit]].<ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/03/tucker/index.html Karla Faye Tucker's last hours?]" ''CNN''. February 3, 1998. Retrieved on September 29, 2010.</ref> For her [[last meal]], Tucker requested a banana, a peach, and a garden salad with ranch dressing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm |title=Final Meal Requests |date=October 1, 2003 |publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |accessdate=October 1, 2003 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031001190442/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm |archivedate=October 1, 2003 |
On February 2, 1998, state authorities took Tucker from the unit in Gatesville and flew her on a TDCJ aircraft,<ref>Hoppe, Christy. "[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3DA8B57818DA2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Board unanimously rejects Tucker's plea for clemency Federal courts, governor could delay execution]." ''The Dallas Morning News''. February 3, 1998. Retrieved on November 19, 2010. "...on a prison agency plane from the women's death row prison in Gatesville to..."{{dead link|date=February 2016}}</ref> transporting her to the [[Huntsville Unit]].<ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/03/tucker/index.html Karla Faye Tucker's last hours?]" ''CNN''. February 3, 1998. Retrieved on September 29, 2010.</ref> For her [[last meal]], Tucker requested a banana, a peach, and a garden salad with ranch dressing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm |title=Final Meal Requests |date=October 1, 2003 |publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |accessdate=October 1, 2003 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031001190442/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm |archivedate=October 1, 2003}}</ref> |
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She selected four people to watch her die, who included her sister Kari Weeks, her spouse Dana Brown, her close friend Jackie Oncken, and Ronald Carlson. At one time, Carlson had supported the execution, but after a religious conversion he decided that he was now opposed to all executions. The witnesses for the murder victims included Thornton's husband Richard, Thornton's only child William Joseph Davis and Thornton's stepdaughter Katie. Tucker's execution was also witnessed by members of the [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]], Warden Bagget, and various representatives of the media. Her last words were:<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/tuckerkarlalast.htm Last Statement – Karla Faye Tucker]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925152016/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/tuckerkarlalast.htm |date=September 25, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="POST1"/> |
She selected four people to watch her die, who included her sister Kari Weeks, her spouse Dana Brown, her close friend Jackie Oncken, and Ronald Carlson. At one time, Carlson had supported the execution, but after a religious conversion he decided that he was now opposed to all executions. The witnesses for the murder victims included Thornton's husband Richard, Thornton's only child William Joseph Davis and Thornton's stepdaughter Katie. Tucker's execution was also witnessed by members of the [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]], Warden Bagget, and various representatives of the media. Her last words were:<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/tuckerkarlalast.htm Last Statement – Karla Faye Tucker]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on September 29, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925152016/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/tuckerkarlalast.htm |date=September 25, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="POST1"/> |
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{{quote|Yes sir, I would like to say to all of you — the Thornton family and Jerry Dean's family — that I am so sorry. I hope God will give you peace with this. [She looked at her husband.] Baby, I love you. [She looked at Ronald Carlson.] Ron, give Peggy a hug for me. [She looked at all present weeping and smiling.] Everybody has been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I am going to be face to face with Jesus now. Warden Baggett, thank all of you so much. You have been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I will see you all when you get there. I will wait for you.}} |
{{quote|Yes sir, I would like to say to all of you — the Thornton family and Jerry Dean's family — that I am so sorry. I hope God will give you peace with this. [She looked at her husband.] Baby, I love you. [She looked at Ronald Carlson.] Ron, give Peggy a hug for me. [She looked at all present weeping and smiling.] Everybody has been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I am going to be face to face with Jesus now. Warden Baggett, thank all of you so much. You have been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I will see you all when you get there. I will wait for you.}} |
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She was executed by lethal injection on February 3, 1998. As the deadly chemicals were being administered, she praised Jesus Christ, licked her lips, looked at the ceiling, and hummed. She was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m. C.S.T., eight minutes after receiving the injection.<ref name="POST1">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=February 3, 2016 |title=The day the Pickax killer Karla Faye Tucker was executed in 1998 |
She was executed by [[lethal injection]] on February 3, 1998. As the deadly chemicals were being administered, she praised Jesus Christ, licked her lips, looked at the ceiling, and hummed. She was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m. C.S.T., eight minutes after receiving the injection.<ref name="POST1">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=February 3, 2016 |title=The day the Pickax killer Karla Faye Tucker was executed in 1998 |
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|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/pickax-slayer-put-death-smile-prayer-leth-article-1.798969 |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York, New York |access-date=April 8, 2016}}</ref> She was buried at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston. |
|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/pickax-slayer-put-death-smile-prayer-leth-article-1.798969 |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York, New York |access-date=April 8, 2016}}</ref> She was buried at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/karla.html "Karla Faye Tucker: Justice Delayed?"] article on the life and death of Karla Faye Tucker |
* [http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/karla.html "Karla Faye Tucker: Justice Delayed?"] article on the life and death of Karla Faye Tucker |
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{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Crime |portal3= Criminal justice |portal4= Texas}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Karla Faye}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Karla Faye}} |
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[[Category:1959 births]] |
[[Category:1959 births]] |
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[[Category:1998 deaths]] |
[[Category:1998 deaths]] |