left him with a black eye. Police confiscated sixteen firearms from the house. Texas authorities stated that Battaglia killed his daughters out of retaliation because Pearle had complained to his probation officer. The funeral for the two girls was held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Dallas, and they were buried at Hillcrest Cemetery, in North Dallas, with Pearle's father. Legal proceedings and execution Battaglia's capital murder trial began on April 22, 2002, and was held at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas. Howard Blackmon was the lead prosecutor; Battaglia was represented by Paul Johnson and Paul Brauchle. Jurors deliberated for 19 minutes before convicting Battaglia of the highest charge, capital murder. During the penalty phase of the trial, Battaglia's lawyers argued that their client should not receive the death penalty because he had bipolar disorder. On April 30, 2002, the same jury sentenced Battaglia to death. After he received his sentence, Battaglia was held at the Polunsky Unit near Livingston. After the sentencing, his ex-wife told him to "burn in hell forever". She also said: "You are one of the most heinous murderers of modern times. I would like to say the next time you see me is when they put the needle in your arm....But I'm not going to waste the time to be there." Pearle changed her mind and witnessed the execution nearly sixteen years later. Christie Battaglia publicly expressed support for Battaglia's execution, as did Ghetti. Death sentences are automatically appealed, and Battaglia's appellate attorneys fought to have his sentence commuted from death to life-without-parole. Battaglia was scheduled to be executed on March 30, 2016, but the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay so that the court could rule on his attorneys' claims that he was not mentally competent to be executed. The State of Texas did not challenge this stay, and his execution was postponed. On August 15, 2016, Battaglia was given an execution date of December 7, 2016. On December 2, 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution for Battaglia due to questions concerning his mental competency. The ruling gave his attorneys 60 days to argue before the Court of Criminal Appeals. On September 20, 2017, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed Battaglia's claim of mental incompetence. At a competency hearing in November 2016, a mental health expert testified that Battaglia was likely