Death row killer to be executed today after murdering baby - tried to 'expel demon'

A man from Texas is due to be executed today after murdering his girlfriend's baby daughter in an ordeal the couple described as an "exorcism". Blaine Milam, 35, killed 13-month-old Amora Carson in a trailer in Rusk County in December 2008.

Milam has long protested his innocence and blamed his then-girlfriend, Jesseca Carson, for the murder. He claimed Carson was the one who said Amora was possessed by a demon. The pair were 18 when the tot was murdered. Carson was sentenced to life in prison after she was convicted of capital murder - meaning an offence in the US punishable by death.

Milam was due to receive a lethal injection at Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville on Thursday evening local time, according to ABC News.

The same outlet described how Milam beat baby Amora with a hammer. Prosecutors also alleged he bit, strangled and mutilated her little body over a 30 hour period.

An autopsy is reported to have found Amora suffered broken arms, legs, ribs and bites as well as multiple fractures to her skull.

ABC reported that appeals courts have previously rejected applications from Milam's lawyers for a stay of execution.

This followed successful applications for stays of execution in 2019 and 2021.

Milam's legal team had tried at the Supreme Court to pin the blame fully on Carson, who they alleged was suffering from religious delusions and a brain disorder that had led her to see distortions in Amora's face.

His lawyers argued he has a disabled intellect, which would have meant he would have avoided execution.

The Texas Attorney General's Office said claims of intellectual disability had been dismissed by previous court rulings and his efforts to hide evidence and a confession made after his arrest pointed to his guilt.

If the execution goes ahead it would make Milam the fifth person to be put to death in Texas this year, according to ABC.