Townsend was missing for more than a year before a prisoner named Ramiro Felix Gonzales (November 5, 1982 – June 26, 2024), who was serving two consecutive life terms for a September 2001 abduction-rape case, confessed that he was responsible for murdering her.

The youth, Ramiro Felix Gonzales, stumbled upon Townsend after entering the house, overpowered her, tied her up, and stole whatever cash he could find, but failed to yield any drugs.

Even though she asked for mercy, Townsend was raped by Gonzales, who subsequently brandished a hunting rifle and fatally shot her.

Gonzales managed to evade capture for eight months before he was arrested for the unrelated kidnapping and rape of a woman named Florence Teich in September 2001.

Gonzales eventually gone astray and when he was merely 11 years old, he began to pick up harmful habits of underage drinking and drug consumption.

[6] After his confession, Gonzales was arrested and charged with capital murder, an offence that warrants the death penalty under Texas state law upon conviction.

Gonzales had submitted that he wished to donate a kidney as an "altruistic donor" without a known recipient, purportedly to atone for having murdered Townsend back in 2001.

[22][23][24] Another ground of appeal was that Gonzales accused the prison authorities for violating his religious freedom due to them not allowing his spiritual advisor to hold his hands during the execution procedure.

Gonzales's attorney's highlighted his tragic childhood and stated that their client was remorseful of his crimes back in 2001 and that he had found God in prison.

[32][33] Prior to the execution, Townsend's mother Patricia told the press that the state's decision to execute Gonzales on the date of her daughter's 42nd birthday (news outlets erroneously stated it was Townsend's 41st birthday) was a comforting gesture as Gonzales "was set to leave the world the same day Bridget came into it."

[34][35] On the other hand, Gonzales's lawyers, Thea Posel and Raoul Schonemann, released a statement and claiming their client was no longer the same person who perpetrated Townsend's murder 23 years prior, but an individual with love as his driving force and someone who was "a deeply spiritual, generous, patient, and intentional" person filled with remorse for his actions.