Blaine Milam, 35, was executed Thursday in Texas for murdering his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter, Amora Carson, in December 2008 during a brutal 30-hour “exorcism.”

Prosecutors said Milam beat, strangled, bit, and mutilated the child, causing skull fractures, broken bones, and dozens of bite marks.

He was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:40 p.m. at the Huntsville Unit, after appearing anxious upon arrival.

Milam maintained his innocence, claiming he was following his girlfriend Jesseca Carson’s instructions; she was sentenced to life without parole.

His attorneys argued for clemency, citing unreliable bite mark evidence and questions about his intellectual disability, but courts denied appeals and postponed the execution twice, Fox News has reported.

During his final statement, Milam thanked supporters and urged faith in Jesus Christ.

Texas, the leading death penalty state in the U.S., carried out the execution despite years of appeals and publicity surrounding the case.