A Texas appeals court on Tuesday halted the execution of a man who has spent more than 30 years on death row and had been set to die by lethal injection this week over the killings of six girls and young women found buried in the desert near El Paso.

The order came just over 48 hours before David Leonard Wood was set to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals blocked the execution of convicted El Paso 'Desert Killer' David Leonard Wood, court records show.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not clarify why it halted the execution of David Wood in its order granting the stay.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday delayed the plans of the state to executed its longest-held death row inmate.