1 00:00:03,753 --> 00:00:04,963 DET. LEEDY: Three female bodies were found 2 00:00:06,506 --> 00:00:08,591 floating in Tampa Bay. 3 00:00:08,633 --> 00:00:12,178 All three of them had yellow polypropylene rope 4 00:00:12,220 --> 00:00:13,680 tied around their necks 5 00:00:13,722 --> 00:00:15,015 and the other end of that rope 6 00:00:15,056 --> 00:00:16,599 was tied to a concrete block. 7 00:00:16,641 --> 00:00:18,893 SGT. MOORE: We believe they had gone there 8 00:00:18,935 --> 00:00:21,980 to meet somebody in a blue and white boat. 9 00:00:22,022 --> 00:00:23,898 CRAIG: People were worried there might be 10 00:00:23,940 --> 00:00:25,859 a serial killer loose. 11 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:29,195 DET. LEEDY: We publicize a picture of the brochure 12 00:00:29,237 --> 00:00:32,365 with the suspect's handwriting on it on billboards. 13 00:00:32,407 --> 00:00:35,785 The very next day, we got a call from a Tampa woman. 14 00:00:35,827 --> 00:00:40,165 She said she believed she knew who the killer was. 15 00:00:41,041 --> 00:00:43,209 Who would do this to an entire family? 16 00:00:43,251 --> 00:00:45,045 DOUGLAS: There was tremendous worry 17 00:00:45,086 --> 00:00:47,422 that we would never solve the crime. 18 00:00:49,174 --> 00:00:52,093 [theme music playing] 19 00:01:03,355 --> 00:01:06,274 CRAIG: Florida is the number one tourism destination 20 00:01:06,316 --> 00:01:07,776 in the United States. 21 00:01:07,817 --> 00:01:10,403 It attracts millions of people from around the world. 22 00:01:10,445 --> 00:01:12,572 DOUGLAS: You have the major attractions in Orlando. 23 00:01:12,614 --> 00:01:15,575 You've got loads of beaches, loads of shoreline, 24 00:01:15,617 --> 00:01:17,077 a lot of boating. 25 00:01:17,118 --> 00:01:19,788 CRAIG: Tampa is across the bay from Saint Petersburg 26 00:01:19,829 --> 00:01:21,122 which is famous for its beaches 27 00:01:21,164 --> 00:01:24,167 and seeing the sunset over the water. 28 00:01:27,295 --> 00:01:30,632 DET. CULBERSON: June 4, 1989 was a very quiet Sunday 29 00:01:30,674 --> 00:01:32,092 in Tampa Bay, 30 00:01:32,133 --> 00:01:36,680 nice weather, boats everywhere out fishing. 31 00:01:36,721 --> 00:01:38,515 DET. LEEDY: On that Sunday morning, 32 00:01:38,556 --> 00:01:42,852 three female bodies were found floating in Tampa Bay. 33 00:01:44,479 --> 00:01:46,773 SGT. MOORE: They've been discovered by some boaters 34 00:01:46,815 --> 00:01:49,192 that was called in to a coastguard. 35 00:01:49,234 --> 00:01:53,405 The coastguard came out and recovered the bodies. 36 00:01:54,781 --> 00:01:59,035 DET. LEEDY: All three of them had a yellow polypropylene rope 37 00:01:59,077 --> 00:02:00,745 tied around their necks 38 00:02:00,787 --> 00:02:04,457 and the other end of that rope was tied to a concrete wall. 39 00:02:04,499 --> 00:02:06,668 [suspenseful music playing] 40 00:02:08,670 --> 00:02:11,715 SGT. MOORE: The coastguard bought them back to the dock 41 00:02:11,756 --> 00:02:13,800 and that's where we were called 42 00:02:13,842 --> 00:02:16,553 and began our investigation. 43 00:02:18,304 --> 00:02:20,015 DOUGLAS: The victims' mouths were covered 44 00:02:20,056 --> 00:02:21,433 with duct tape. 45 00:02:21,474 --> 00:02:23,018 Their hands were tied with cotton 46 00:02:23,059 --> 00:02:25,437 and polypropylene rope behind their backs. 47 00:02:25,478 --> 00:02:27,480 And then their feet were bound. 48 00:02:27,522 --> 00:02:30,692 They were unclothed from the waist down. 49 00:02:32,652 --> 00:02:35,822 They were relatively young women. 50 00:02:35,864 --> 00:02:37,991 We didn't have any identification, 51 00:02:38,033 --> 00:02:39,451 we knew nothing about them. 52 00:02:39,492 --> 00:02:42,746 All we knew was that this terrible tragedy occurred. 53 00:02:42,787 --> 00:02:44,914 DET. CULBERSON: I was in special operations 54 00:02:44,956 --> 00:02:48,126 and we were called down to the docks. 55 00:02:48,168 --> 00:02:51,212 And when I arrived there, I was able to view the victims 56 00:02:51,254 --> 00:02:53,631 along with the cinder block. 57 00:02:53,673 --> 00:02:56,176 One body that I did observe on the dock 58 00:02:56,217 --> 00:02:57,844 was unlike the other two. 59 00:02:57,886 --> 00:03:00,055 This girl was able to release 60 00:03:00,096 --> 00:03:01,681 one of her hands from the rope 61 00:03:01,723 --> 00:03:05,518 and had pulled part of the duct tape off of her mouth. 62 00:03:06,728 --> 00:03:09,022 It was obvious that she had still been alive 63 00:03:09,064 --> 00:03:10,815 when she was tossed in the water. 64 00:03:12,609 --> 00:03:15,987 This was a malevolent, horrible crime, 65 00:03:16,029 --> 00:03:18,698 extremely cruel with a great deal 66 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:21,493 of sadistic intent. 67 00:03:21,534 --> 00:03:24,120 DET. LEEDY: We all just couldn't imagine 68 00:03:24,162 --> 00:03:27,165 what kind of a person would kill three women 69 00:03:27,207 --> 00:03:29,292 and then just throw them overboard 70 00:03:29,334 --> 00:03:31,252 like they meant nothing. 71 00:03:31,294 --> 00:03:33,755 DOUGLAS: We didn't know the relationship of the victims 72 00:03:33,797 --> 00:03:36,800 but it was apparent because of the commonality 73 00:03:36,841 --> 00:03:39,302 and the way they were tied that the crimes 74 00:03:39,344 --> 00:03:41,554 were related and were committed at-- 75 00:03:41,596 --> 00:03:44,849 at approximately the same time by one or more people 76 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:46,643 who were still out there. 77 00:03:48,019 --> 00:03:50,980 The autopsies were performed within a couple of days. 78 00:03:51,022 --> 00:03:54,234 We had results indicating that they died of asphyxiation 79 00:03:54,275 --> 00:03:56,986 but it was impossible to tell whether that occurred 80 00:03:57,028 --> 00:04:00,240 from drowning or from the constriction 81 00:04:00,281 --> 00:04:02,200 of the ropes around their neck that were used 82 00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:04,536 to tie to the concrete blocks. 83 00:04:04,577 --> 00:04:07,163 They were able to get fingerprints off the bodies 84 00:04:07,205 --> 00:04:09,749 but they didn't match police records. 85 00:04:10,875 --> 00:04:13,253 DET. LEEDY: The medical examiner said that 86 00:04:13,294 --> 00:04:15,296 they were in the water 87 00:04:15,338 --> 00:04:18,383 from 50 to 60 hours. 88 00:04:18,425 --> 00:04:21,636 And because of that, there was no evidence 89 00:04:21,678 --> 00:04:23,346 that could determine if the victims 90 00:04:23,388 --> 00:04:24,848 were actually raped. 91 00:04:24,889 --> 00:04:27,142 But since they were nude from the waist down, 92 00:04:27,183 --> 00:04:29,769 we just figured they probably were. 93 00:04:31,271 --> 00:04:33,064 DOUGLAS: We didn't know the venue 94 00:04:33,106 --> 00:04:34,441 where the crimes had occurred. 95 00:04:34,482 --> 00:04:36,401 We contacted the expert witnesses 96 00:04:36,443 --> 00:04:39,612 who'd been studying the currents in Tampa Bay for decades 97 00:04:39,654 --> 00:04:41,448 and it was clear that they had not been dumped 98 00:04:41,489 --> 00:04:43,742 from one of the bridges or from land, 99 00:04:43,783 --> 00:04:46,494 so we knew that the bodies had been disposed off 100 00:04:46,536 --> 00:04:49,664 from a boat in the middle of Tampa Bay. 101 00:04:51,082 --> 00:04:53,960 Tampa Bay is probably 10 miles across. 102 00:04:54,002 --> 00:04:56,046 It's a big, expansive water. 103 00:04:56,087 --> 00:04:59,382 There was not crime scene in the traditional sense. 104 00:04:59,424 --> 00:05:01,051 The crimes had occurred in the boat 105 00:05:01,092 --> 00:05:03,511 in the open waters of Tampa Bay, 106 00:05:03,553 --> 00:05:06,765 so the crime scene that police are normally able to go to 107 00:05:06,806 --> 00:05:10,477 and get forensic evidence was just not existing. 108 00:05:10,518 --> 00:05:12,228 DET. LEEDY: There was no evidence 109 00:05:12,270 --> 00:05:14,939 to help find out who our victims were, 110 00:05:14,981 --> 00:05:19,402 so we needed a big break to solve this case. 111 00:05:21,196 --> 00:05:22,405 And trying to find out 112 00:05:22,447 --> 00:05:24,032 who they were, where they were from, 113 00:05:24,074 --> 00:05:27,118 we checked missing person reports in Florida 114 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,206 and the jewelry that the victims were wearing was publicized, 115 00:05:31,247 --> 00:05:34,668 asking anyone to come forward with information 116 00:05:34,709 --> 00:05:37,420 to help us identify the women. 117 00:05:37,462 --> 00:05:40,632 But three days after the bodies were found, 118 00:05:40,674 --> 00:05:43,760 nothing was panning out for us. 119 00:05:45,637 --> 00:05:47,430 CRAIG: Just the thought that three women 120 00:05:47,472 --> 00:05:49,057 would be killed in such a way, 121 00:05:49,099 --> 00:05:51,309 it set off a sort of a wave of terror 122 00:05:51,351 --> 00:05:52,686 around the Tampa Bay area. 123 00:05:52,727 --> 00:05:54,187 People were worried there might be 124 00:05:54,229 --> 00:05:55,397 a serial killer loose 125 00:05:55,438 --> 00:05:57,899 and the authorities were baffled. 126 00:05:59,526 --> 00:06:01,736 DET. LEEDY: Four days after the bodies were found, 127 00:06:01,778 --> 00:06:05,865 a housekeeper from the Days Inn Hotel in Tampa 128 00:06:05,907 --> 00:06:09,536 notified her manager that room 251 129 00:06:09,577 --> 00:06:12,205 had not been used since the hotel guest 130 00:06:12,247 --> 00:06:15,667 checked in to their hotel room a week earlier. 131 00:06:16,876 --> 00:06:19,212 SGT. MOORE: The housekeeper there had noticed 132 00:06:19,254 --> 00:06:21,339 that nobody had been back to the room. 133 00:06:21,381 --> 00:06:23,591 The bed had not been slept in. 134 00:06:23,633 --> 00:06:26,720 She had heard about the bodies recovered 135 00:06:26,761 --> 00:06:29,514 out of the bay and so she thought 136 00:06:29,556 --> 00:06:31,558 that maybe this was suspicious. 137 00:06:31,599 --> 00:06:34,436 So, we went to the Days Inn. 138 00:06:36,104 --> 00:06:38,982 DET. LEEDY: The registration at the hotel 139 00:06:39,024 --> 00:06:43,194 showed the room had been rented by a Joan Rogers 140 00:06:43,236 --> 00:06:44,946 with two children. 141 00:06:44,988 --> 00:06:47,490 When we examined the hotel room, 142 00:06:47,532 --> 00:06:50,076 the beds had never been messed up, 143 00:06:50,118 --> 00:06:52,203 the suitcases had been opened. 144 00:06:53,621 --> 00:06:55,915 SGT. MOORE: Our technician obtained the fingerprints 145 00:06:55,957 --> 00:06:58,335 off of several items in the hotel. 146 00:06:58,376 --> 00:07:01,963 DET. LEEDY: That technician dusted a toothpaste tube, 147 00:07:02,005 --> 00:07:04,758 uh, dusted some items from their suitcase. 148 00:07:04,799 --> 00:07:07,761 Those fingerprints showed that the same women 149 00:07:07,802 --> 00:07:09,763 who had been in that hotel room 150 00:07:09,804 --> 00:07:12,015 and left those items behind 151 00:07:12,057 --> 00:07:16,644 were the same women who were found in Tampa Bay. 152 00:07:17,937 --> 00:07:20,774 So now we knew for sure that the victims 153 00:07:20,815 --> 00:07:24,277 were the mom, Joan Rogers, and her two children. 154 00:07:24,319 --> 00:07:27,113 But we still needed more information 155 00:07:27,155 --> 00:07:30,492 about the Rogers family. 156 00:07:30,533 --> 00:07:33,620 The registration at the hotel 157 00:07:33,661 --> 00:07:35,747 showed Joan Rogers' name. 158 00:07:35,789 --> 00:07:37,415 SGT. MOORE: We found out what kind of car 159 00:07:37,457 --> 00:07:39,501 they were driving, their tag number 160 00:07:39,542 --> 00:07:41,878 from records at the hotel. 161 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:43,630 DET. LEEDY: We couldn't find information 162 00:07:43,672 --> 00:07:47,801 about the two children, but we found an Ohio address. 163 00:07:47,842 --> 00:07:51,930 So we contacted Sheriff Stan Owens 164 00:07:51,971 --> 00:07:55,809 with the Van Wert County Sheriff's Department 165 00:07:55,850 --> 00:07:56,935 in Ohio. 166 00:07:56,976 --> 00:08:00,522 He knew Joan Rogers and her family. 167 00:08:01,564 --> 00:08:04,901 We learned that the family owned a dairy farm 168 00:08:04,943 --> 00:08:06,444 in Willshire, Ohio. 169 00:08:06,486 --> 00:08:10,407 There was the dad, Hal Rogers, 170 00:08:10,448 --> 00:08:12,826 and his wife, Joan Rogers, 171 00:08:12,867 --> 00:08:15,370 but she always went by Joe. 172 00:08:15,412 --> 00:08:17,455 The sheriffs also knew 173 00:08:17,497 --> 00:08:19,207 they had two teenage daughters, 174 00:08:19,249 --> 00:08:21,334 Michelle, 17, 175 00:08:21,376 --> 00:08:23,712 and Christe, 14, 176 00:08:23,753 --> 00:08:27,841 the same girls found in the water. 177 00:08:27,882 --> 00:08:30,593 The sheriff contacted Hal for us 178 00:08:30,635 --> 00:08:33,638 and discovered that the family was down here on vacation 179 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:36,307 while Hal was still on the farm. 180 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:39,144 Hal was expecting them back Sunday. 181 00:08:39,185 --> 00:08:42,188 DOUGLAS: We found out Hal had been in contact with Joe 182 00:08:42,230 --> 00:08:43,648 off and on during the trip. 183 00:08:43,690 --> 00:08:45,734 Then he lost contact with her. 184 00:08:45,775 --> 00:08:47,736 DET. LEEDY: So Hal had just reported 185 00:08:47,777 --> 00:08:50,905 his family missing days earlier. 186 00:08:52,032 --> 00:08:55,785 We gave Hal the news about his family's death. 187 00:08:55,827 --> 00:08:57,829 DOUGLAS: This was certainly horrific in the fact 188 00:08:57,871 --> 00:09:00,165 that the entire family was wiped up 189 00:09:00,206 --> 00:09:01,374 and the husband and father 190 00:09:01,416 --> 00:09:03,835 being left absolutely devastated. 191 00:09:05,295 --> 00:09:07,672 DET. LEEDY: Later that day, Tampa Police 192 00:09:07,714 --> 00:09:11,384 searched for several hours and found the family's car 193 00:09:11,426 --> 00:09:14,220 in the parking lot of a boat ramp 194 00:09:14,262 --> 00:09:16,473 just off Courtney Campbell Causeway 195 00:09:16,514 --> 00:09:19,476 about two and a half miles from the hotel. 196 00:09:19,517 --> 00:09:21,561 We searched the car. 197 00:09:21,603 --> 00:09:23,730 SGT. MOORE: There was a tourism brochure 198 00:09:23,772 --> 00:09:25,815 that was found in the car. 199 00:09:25,857 --> 00:09:28,568 There was handwriting on that brochure 200 00:09:28,610 --> 00:09:32,781 that gave directions to the victims' hotel. 201 00:09:32,822 --> 00:09:35,033 We also discovered in the car 202 00:09:35,075 --> 00:09:38,578 a note that was written on Days Inn stationary. 203 00:09:38,620 --> 00:09:42,457 The note said, "Turn right Highway 60, 204 00:09:42,499 --> 00:09:46,044 two and a half miles blue/w" 205 00:09:46,086 --> 00:09:48,963 which we took to mean blue and white. 206 00:09:49,005 --> 00:09:51,591 These were directions from the hotel 207 00:09:51,633 --> 00:09:56,596 to the boat ramp where we discovered their car. 208 00:09:56,638 --> 00:09:58,473 Considering the fact that these ladies 209 00:09:58,515 --> 00:10:00,183 were found in the bay, 210 00:10:00,225 --> 00:10:04,229 we surmised that they had gone there to meet somebody 211 00:10:04,270 --> 00:10:05,522 in a blue and white boat. 212 00:10:05,563 --> 00:10:07,899 Whoever was on the water that night 213 00:10:07,941 --> 00:10:09,693 was probably their killer. 214 00:10:09,734 --> 00:10:12,946 [suspenseful music playing] 215 00:10:12,987 --> 00:10:15,657 DET. LEEDY: We think the killer gave them directions 216 00:10:15,699 --> 00:10:17,617 to the boat ramp. 217 00:10:17,659 --> 00:10:19,411 SGT. MOORE: If we could find the person 218 00:10:19,452 --> 00:10:21,621 that wrote this handwriting, 219 00:10:21,663 --> 00:10:23,623 we'd find the killer. 220 00:10:23,665 --> 00:10:26,501 Hal Rogers told us that Michelle 221 00:10:26,543 --> 00:10:29,796 had been sexually assaulted by her uncle. 222 00:10:29,838 --> 00:10:31,798 CRAIG: The detectives speculated that John Rogers 223 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:33,758 had perhaps hired a hitman 224 00:10:34,134 --> 00:10:36,302 SGT. MOORE: On June 4th, 1989, 225 00:10:45,061 --> 00:10:48,398 there was three bodies popped up in Tampa Bay. 226 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,734 DET. LEEDY: The victims were Joan Rogers 227 00:10:50,775 --> 00:10:53,111 and her two teenage daughters, 228 00:10:53,153 --> 00:10:56,322 Christe and Michelle. 229 00:10:56,364 --> 00:10:58,491 On June 8th, 1989, 230 00:10:58,533 --> 00:11:02,162 a Tampa Police Officer found the victim's car 231 00:11:02,203 --> 00:11:05,248 in the parking lot of a boat ramp 232 00:11:05,290 --> 00:11:08,460 about two and a half miles from their hotel. 233 00:11:10,086 --> 00:11:11,921 SGT. MOORE: In that car were two items 234 00:11:11,963 --> 00:11:14,466 that turned out to be key in the investigation. 235 00:11:14,507 --> 00:11:18,428 One of them was a note with directions from the hotel 236 00:11:18,470 --> 00:11:20,263 to the boat ramp. 237 00:11:20,305 --> 00:11:22,432 And we believed that they had gone there 238 00:11:22,474 --> 00:11:25,560 to meet somebody in a blue and white boat. 239 00:11:25,602 --> 00:11:28,188 The other thing we found in their car 240 00:11:28,229 --> 00:11:31,608 was a brochure that gave directions 241 00:11:31,649 --> 00:11:34,778 to the victims' hotel 242 00:11:34,819 --> 00:11:36,863 on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. 243 00:11:36,905 --> 00:11:40,325 DET. LEEDY: And there was some handwriting on the brochure. 244 00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:44,621 Someone had written Route 60, 245 00:11:44,662 --> 00:11:48,291 Courtney Causeway, Days Inn, 246 00:11:48,333 --> 00:11:51,002 and off to the side there was written 247 00:11:51,044 --> 00:11:52,921 in a different handwriting, 248 00:11:52,962 --> 00:11:55,131 "Boy Scout Columbus" 249 00:11:55,173 --> 00:11:58,301 which is the name of a street that runs in Tampa 250 00:11:58,343 --> 00:12:02,806 from Dale Mabry Highway toward the victims' hotel 251 00:12:02,847 --> 00:12:05,600 on Courtney Campbell Causeway. 252 00:12:05,642 --> 00:12:08,311 SGT. MOORE: It was our belief that they met somebody 253 00:12:08,353 --> 00:12:11,022 at some point on their way to their hotel 254 00:12:11,064 --> 00:12:12,816 who gave them these instructions 255 00:12:12,857 --> 00:12:14,567 and actually wrote the instructions 256 00:12:14,609 --> 00:12:16,653 on the brochure. 257 00:12:16,695 --> 00:12:18,405 The brochure was important. 258 00:12:18,446 --> 00:12:21,449 We had to have that analyze for handwriting. 259 00:12:21,491 --> 00:12:24,994 And also, the Days Inn stationary, 260 00:12:25,036 --> 00:12:26,955 we need to determine for sure 261 00:12:26,996 --> 00:12:29,416 whose handwriting that was. 262 00:12:33,003 --> 00:12:35,588 We had sent investigators to Ohio 263 00:12:35,630 --> 00:12:40,218 to develop more information about the victims. 264 00:12:40,260 --> 00:12:44,055 We found out the Rogers family had a dairy farm. 265 00:12:44,097 --> 00:12:47,308 The husband and father, Hal Rogers, 266 00:12:47,350 --> 00:12:49,477 Joe, Michelle, and Christe 267 00:12:49,519 --> 00:12:52,480 lived on the farm and worked the farm. 268 00:12:52,522 --> 00:12:55,025 DET. LEEDY: When we talked to Hal, 269 00:12:55,066 --> 00:12:59,029 he had mentioned that Joe worked two jobs. 270 00:12:59,070 --> 00:13:00,488 She worked on the dairy farm 271 00:13:00,530 --> 00:13:03,074 and she also had a midnight shift job 272 00:13:03,116 --> 00:13:07,370 at a factory just to bring in some extra money. 273 00:13:07,412 --> 00:13:09,914 He said the girls were big members 274 00:13:09,956 --> 00:13:10,999 of the community. 275 00:13:11,041 --> 00:13:13,126 They did a lot of activities. 276 00:13:13,168 --> 00:13:16,212 They participated in the county fair. 277 00:13:16,254 --> 00:13:18,423 They would show their cows. 278 00:13:19,924 --> 00:13:24,429 Hal said that at the beginning of May 1989, 279 00:13:24,471 --> 00:13:27,807 they decided to take a vacation for a week 280 00:13:27,849 --> 00:13:30,977 and they had talked about coming to Florida before. 281 00:13:31,019 --> 00:13:33,980 And they decided that this would be the summer 282 00:13:34,022 --> 00:13:35,440 they would do it. 283 00:13:35,482 --> 00:13:38,401 Hal had to stay behind and work with the farm. 284 00:13:38,443 --> 00:13:40,487 SGT. MOORE: They were farmers from Ohio. 285 00:13:40,528 --> 00:13:44,741 They'd never had a vacation in their lives. 286 00:13:44,783 --> 00:13:46,701 DET. LEEDY: On Friday, May 26, 287 00:13:46,743 --> 00:13:51,039 the mom and the two daughters got in their Oldsmobile 288 00:13:51,081 --> 00:13:53,249 and they said goodbye to Hal 289 00:13:53,291 --> 00:13:55,377 and they left for Florida. 290 00:13:57,837 --> 00:14:00,131 They sent postcards home, 291 00:14:00,173 --> 00:14:02,592 they made phone calls home. 292 00:14:02,634 --> 00:14:05,011 SGT. MOORE: Hal told us that they had been 293 00:14:05,053 --> 00:14:08,598 to Disney World and had come to the Tampa area 294 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:10,266 to go to the beach. 295 00:14:10,308 --> 00:14:12,769 DET. LEEDY: They were gonna go to Busch Gardens on Friday, 296 00:14:12,811 --> 00:14:14,938 June 2nd, in Tampa, 297 00:14:14,979 --> 00:14:17,190 and then head home on Saturday. 298 00:14:17,232 --> 00:14:21,569 And Hal was expecting them back Sunday, June 4th. 299 00:14:21,611 --> 00:14:24,280 SGT. MOORE: Hal told us he'd been in contact with Joe 300 00:14:24,322 --> 00:14:26,366 off and on during the trip. 301 00:14:26,408 --> 00:14:28,243 Then he lost contact with her. 302 00:14:28,284 --> 00:14:30,537 And he became very, very concerned. 303 00:14:30,578 --> 00:14:32,747 They weren't coming back at the timeframe 304 00:14:32,789 --> 00:14:34,457 that he expected them. 305 00:14:34,499 --> 00:14:37,293 He was very, very distraught. 306 00:14:38,461 --> 00:14:41,339 On June 5th, he'd notified the police 307 00:14:41,381 --> 00:14:43,925 but unfortunately, Hal Roger's entire family 308 00:14:43,967 --> 00:14:46,469 had been murdered. 309 00:14:46,511 --> 00:14:48,847 DOUGLAS: The terrible tragedy of this young family 310 00:14:48,888 --> 00:14:52,308 coming to our hometown hoping to escape the hardship 311 00:14:52,350 --> 00:14:55,353 of the farm and being victimized, 312 00:14:55,395 --> 00:14:57,188 it's a terrible tragedy. 313 00:14:58,481 --> 00:15:00,984 SGT. MOORE: While in Ohio, we discovered 314 00:15:01,026 --> 00:15:02,652 a lot of things that had been going on 315 00:15:02,694 --> 00:15:04,654 inside the Rogers family. 316 00:15:05,530 --> 00:15:08,241 Hal told us that Michelle, 317 00:15:08,283 --> 00:15:10,660 the oldest of the two teenage girls, 318 00:15:10,702 --> 00:15:14,831 had been sexually assaulted on several occasions 319 00:15:14,873 --> 00:15:17,876 by her uncle, John Rogers. 320 00:15:19,711 --> 00:15:22,797 DOUGLAS: A year or so prior to the bodies being found, 321 00:15:22,839 --> 00:15:25,592 Hal's brother, John Rogers, was arrested in Ohio 322 00:15:25,633 --> 00:15:28,970 for the rape of another local woman, 323 00:15:29,012 --> 00:15:30,347 sent to prison, 324 00:15:30,388 --> 00:15:32,891 was imprisoned at the time of the murders. 325 00:15:32,932 --> 00:15:36,853 We wondered if both the rape and the Rogers family case 326 00:15:36,895 --> 00:15:38,146 were related. 327 00:15:38,188 --> 00:15:40,523 [tense music playing] 328 00:15:40,565 --> 00:15:42,609 DET. LEEDY: Hal's brother, John Rogers, 329 00:15:42,650 --> 00:15:45,528 had a separate trailer on the farm. 330 00:15:45,570 --> 00:15:48,782 During that investigation a year earlier, 331 00:15:48,823 --> 00:15:52,410 when the sheriffs searched John Rogers' trailer, 332 00:15:52,452 --> 00:15:55,455 they found pictures taken of Michelle. 333 00:15:56,915 --> 00:15:58,416 She was tied up. 334 00:15:58,458 --> 00:16:01,002 It was clear that it was against her will. 335 00:16:01,044 --> 00:16:04,172 When Michelle was asked about that, 336 00:16:04,214 --> 00:16:08,218 she did admit that John had raped her. 337 00:16:08,259 --> 00:16:12,389 John raped Michelle probably a dozen times 338 00:16:12,430 --> 00:16:15,558 over the last two and a half years. 339 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,602 DOUGLAS: And the charges for the rape of Michelle 340 00:16:17,644 --> 00:16:19,729 were dropped because she didn't wish to prosecute. 341 00:16:19,771 --> 00:16:21,398 DET. LEEDY: She was afraid of John 342 00:16:21,439 --> 00:16:23,900 because he always threatened to kill her 343 00:16:23,942 --> 00:16:25,944 if she told anybody. 344 00:16:27,529 --> 00:16:29,572 DET. GEOGHEGAN: Hal's brother was in prison, 345 00:16:29,614 --> 00:16:33,201 so we wanted to see if it was possible 346 00:16:33,243 --> 00:16:34,869 that it was a contract murder 347 00:16:34,911 --> 00:16:38,707 where he had hired somebody to kill the women. 348 00:16:38,748 --> 00:16:41,710 SGT. MOORE: Could there be some connection with John Rogers 349 00:16:41,751 --> 00:16:44,295 and what happened to the Rogers family 350 00:16:44,671 --> 00:16:49,843 DOUGLAS: The murders of Joe, Christe, and Michelle 351 00:16:54,848 --> 00:16:57,183 were horrific in the fact that the entire family 352 00:16:57,225 --> 00:16:59,144 was wiped out. 353 00:16:59,185 --> 00:17:02,188 We found out John Rogers was in prison at the time 354 00:17:02,230 --> 00:17:04,524 that the Rogers women were murdered. 355 00:17:06,026 --> 00:17:07,610 CRAIG: Hal Rogers told the police 356 00:17:07,652 --> 00:17:09,571 that John Rogers, during the rape, 357 00:17:09,612 --> 00:17:10,905 had threatened Michelle, 358 00:17:10,947 --> 00:17:13,533 he said if she told anyone he would kill her. 359 00:17:13,575 --> 00:17:16,077 Now that she was dead, the detective speculated 360 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,830 that John Rogers had perhaps hired a hitman 361 00:17:18,872 --> 00:17:21,666 from prison who had wiped out the whole family. 362 00:17:21,708 --> 00:17:23,793 SGT. MOORE: We investigated John Rogers 363 00:17:23,835 --> 00:17:27,630 because we wanted to be sure there's no connection. 364 00:17:27,672 --> 00:17:29,341 [ominous music playing] 365 00:17:29,382 --> 00:17:31,676 DOUGLAS: The more the police looked at John Rogers 366 00:17:31,718 --> 00:17:33,762 as a suspect, they found out 367 00:17:33,803 --> 00:17:35,972 that he was an isolated inmate, 368 00:17:36,014 --> 00:17:39,851 no contacts, no real ability to pull this off. 369 00:17:39,893 --> 00:17:42,228 DET. LEEDY: There were no phone records from the prison 370 00:17:42,270 --> 00:17:44,856 to indicate anything had been set up 371 00:17:44,898 --> 00:17:49,736 or paid for no murder to hire type thing. 372 00:17:49,778 --> 00:17:53,281 So we eliminated John Rogers as a suspect. 373 00:17:53,323 --> 00:17:56,743 [ominous music playing] 374 00:17:56,785 --> 00:17:58,995 DOUGLAS: In any criminal investigation, 375 00:17:59,037 --> 00:18:02,123 you have to go back and eliminate family 376 00:18:02,165 --> 00:18:06,044 because that's frequently the person that commits crimes. 377 00:18:06,086 --> 00:18:08,672 DET. LEEDY: The most suspicious thing about Hal Rogers 378 00:18:08,713 --> 00:18:10,507 at the time was that he didn't go 379 00:18:10,548 --> 00:18:13,510 on vacation with his family. 380 00:18:13,551 --> 00:18:15,762 That was important to us in case Hal 381 00:18:15,804 --> 00:18:20,058 had orchestrated someone to find his family 382 00:18:20,100 --> 00:18:23,770 and kill them while they were down here on vacation, 383 00:18:23,812 --> 00:18:26,314 and while Hal was still on the farm. 384 00:18:26,356 --> 00:18:28,024 But he was so cooperative. 385 00:18:28,066 --> 00:18:31,069 He had no problems with the police 386 00:18:31,111 --> 00:18:33,530 subpoenaing all his phone records, 387 00:18:33,571 --> 00:18:35,740 his bank records, his credit card records. 388 00:18:35,782 --> 00:18:39,661 And once we learned why he didn't go on vacation, 389 00:18:39,703 --> 00:18:42,205 it was a rainy season, he had crops to plant, 390 00:18:42,247 --> 00:18:43,665 he had to milk the cows. 391 00:18:43,707 --> 00:18:45,667 John had been arrested and was in prison. 392 00:18:45,709 --> 00:18:48,086 He had nobody to help him on the farm. 393 00:18:48,128 --> 00:18:51,881 So we eliminated Hal pretty quickly. 394 00:18:54,968 --> 00:18:59,472 Van Wert is a very small farming community, 395 00:18:59,514 --> 00:19:01,641 very close knit. 396 00:19:01,683 --> 00:19:05,186 There were over 300 people at the funeral 397 00:19:05,228 --> 00:19:07,647 when the Rogers women were buried. 398 00:19:07,689 --> 00:19:10,233 There were friends and relatives, 399 00:19:10,275 --> 00:19:12,152 community members. 400 00:19:13,236 --> 00:19:16,906 To lose three people, most of the family 401 00:19:16,948 --> 00:19:19,117 from one small community, 402 00:19:19,159 --> 00:19:22,287 it was very shocking and devastating 403 00:19:22,328 --> 00:19:24,664 to that entire community. 404 00:19:25,582 --> 00:19:27,125 DOUGLAS: No one really recovers 405 00:19:27,167 --> 00:19:31,046 from having your entire family murdered. 406 00:19:31,087 --> 00:19:34,799 Losing your wife and daughters is completely devastating. 407 00:19:34,841 --> 00:19:38,470 And, uh, there is no closure that goes along with that. 408 00:19:38,511 --> 00:19:41,097 [dramatic music playing] 409 00:19:41,139 --> 00:19:43,475 SGT. MOORE: After we did all of our investigation 410 00:19:43,516 --> 00:19:47,312 in Ohio, we came back to Florida 411 00:19:47,354 --> 00:19:49,606 and began the investigation 412 00:19:49,647 --> 00:19:52,942 into where the Rogers family were 413 00:19:52,984 --> 00:19:54,986 and anybody they could have met, 414 00:19:55,028 --> 00:19:57,364 at the time we were getting a lot of leads 415 00:19:57,405 --> 00:20:01,159 called in to us also because they released information 416 00:20:01,201 --> 00:20:04,454 to the media that maybe they had met somebody 417 00:20:04,496 --> 00:20:06,122 on a blue and white boat. 418 00:20:06,164 --> 00:20:07,999 So we were getting all kinds of calls 419 00:20:08,041 --> 00:20:09,584 about people with blue and white boats, 420 00:20:09,626 --> 00:20:12,003 people that were suspicious and all. 421 00:20:12,045 --> 00:20:15,465 But none of those panned out. 422 00:20:15,507 --> 00:20:18,635 [suspenseful music playing] 423 00:20:18,677 --> 00:20:20,512 SGT. MOORE: Our main evidence that we had 424 00:20:20,553 --> 00:20:24,432 was the handwriting on the Days Inn stationary 425 00:20:24,474 --> 00:20:28,770 and the tourist brochure were found in the car. 426 00:20:28,812 --> 00:20:31,231 So we had that analyzed. 427 00:20:31,272 --> 00:20:34,109 DET. LEEDY: It turns out that on the stationary 428 00:20:34,150 --> 00:20:36,027 from Days Inn where the directions 429 00:20:36,069 --> 00:20:38,113 from the hotel to the boat ramp, 430 00:20:38,154 --> 00:20:41,533 that was Joe Rogers' handwriting. 431 00:20:41,574 --> 00:20:45,328 The little Boy Scout in Columbus on the brochure 432 00:20:45,370 --> 00:20:47,747 was Joe's handwriting. 433 00:20:47,789 --> 00:20:49,207 But the other handwriting, 434 00:20:49,249 --> 00:20:53,795 Route 60 Courtney Causeway Days Inn, 435 00:20:53,837 --> 00:20:56,172 we couldn't match to anybody. 436 00:20:56,214 --> 00:20:58,383 This was written by someone she met 437 00:20:58,425 --> 00:21:01,761 probably on Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. 438 00:21:01,803 --> 00:21:04,139 He gave them directions to their hotel. 439 00:21:04,180 --> 00:21:06,391 We think he called them later at the hotel 440 00:21:06,433 --> 00:21:09,602 and gave them directions to the boat ramp. 441 00:21:09,644 --> 00:21:11,771 SGT. MOORE: At that point, we believe if we could find 442 00:21:11,813 --> 00:21:14,941 the person that wrote this handwriting, 443 00:21:14,983 --> 00:21:16,776 we'd find the killer. 444 00:21:18,069 --> 00:21:19,904 DET. LEEDY: We did a lot of investigation 445 00:21:19,946 --> 00:21:21,322 on Dale Mabry Highway. 446 00:21:21,364 --> 00:21:24,909 We interviewed and compared handwriting samples 447 00:21:24,951 --> 00:21:27,829 with all the employees who were working 448 00:21:27,871 --> 00:21:31,082 in the immediate area at the time of the murders, 449 00:21:31,124 --> 00:21:34,419 but nothing was panning out for us 450 00:21:34,461 --> 00:21:36,921 and we still didn't have a suspect. 451 00:21:39,424 --> 00:21:41,968 In October of 1989, 452 00:21:42,010 --> 00:21:44,137 four months after the murders, 453 00:21:44,179 --> 00:21:46,639 one of the detectives was reading 454 00:21:46,681 --> 00:21:50,935 a Florida Department law enforcement bulletin, 455 00:21:50,977 --> 00:21:54,689 and it described a rape that happened two weeks 456 00:21:54,731 --> 00:21:57,567 before our Rogers family was murdered. 457 00:21:57,609 --> 00:22:02,238 It happened in Madeira Beach, which is very close to Tampa. 458 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,616 SGT. MOORE: It was a tourist from Canada, 459 00:22:04,657 --> 00:22:06,409 and it was a blue and white boat 460 00:22:06,451 --> 00:22:09,329 that she had gotten on with this gentleman. 461 00:22:09,371 --> 00:22:14,292 And he had taken her out on the water for a sunset ride. 462 00:22:14,334 --> 00:22:18,421 And he made threats to her and he raped her. 463 00:22:19,798 --> 00:22:21,883 And there was a composite sketch 464 00:22:21,925 --> 00:22:24,886 that was done by the sketch expert. 465 00:22:24,928 --> 00:22:26,554 DET. LEEDY: There were similarities 466 00:22:26,596 --> 00:22:30,100 between that rape and our homicide. 467 00:22:30,141 --> 00:22:32,852 The description of the blue and white boat, 468 00:22:32,894 --> 00:22:35,355 and the fact that he threatened to tape her mouth off 469 00:22:35,397 --> 00:22:38,274 with duct tape if she didn't stop screaming. 470 00:22:38,316 --> 00:22:40,568 The suspect threatened to throw her off the boat 471 00:22:40,610 --> 00:22:44,030 or to kill her if she didn't cooperate. 472 00:22:44,072 --> 00:22:46,074 There were so many similarities. 473 00:22:46,116 --> 00:22:49,244 We thought this could be our guy. 474 00:22:53,790 --> 00:22:55,875 [dramatic music playing] 475 00:22:55,917 --> 00:22:58,503 DET. LEEDY: In May of 1989, 476 00:22:58,545 --> 00:23:02,048 two weeks before our Rogers family was murdered, 477 00:23:02,090 --> 00:23:06,052 there was a rape case that happened in Madeira Beach, 478 00:23:06,094 --> 00:23:08,722 very close to our area. 479 00:23:08,763 --> 00:23:11,224 It happened on the water in a boat 480 00:23:11,266 --> 00:23:15,395 and the victim of that was a Canadian tourist. 481 00:23:16,563 --> 00:23:20,108 DOUGLAS: The details of the rape were a lot of similarities 482 00:23:20,150 --> 00:23:23,236 to the crimes against the Rogers family. 483 00:23:23,278 --> 00:23:25,030 DET. LEEDY: So we flew up to Canada 484 00:23:25,071 --> 00:23:27,574 and interviewed the rape victim. 485 00:23:29,451 --> 00:23:31,411 SGT. CONNOR-DUBINA: The Canadian tourist 486 00:23:31,453 --> 00:23:32,871 was in her mid-20s 487 00:23:32,912 --> 00:23:36,332 when she was here on vacation with her friend. 488 00:23:36,374 --> 00:23:39,502 And she said they ended up befriending the suspect 489 00:23:39,544 --> 00:23:42,714 at a 7-Eleven in Madeira Beach. 490 00:23:42,756 --> 00:23:44,799 DET. LEEDY: There was a man in the parking lot 491 00:23:44,841 --> 00:23:46,968 in a dark colored SUV. 492 00:23:47,010 --> 00:23:50,430 He struck up a conversation with these two tourists. 493 00:23:50,472 --> 00:23:52,098 SGT. CONNOR-DUBINA: He had a boat 494 00:23:52,140 --> 00:23:53,892 and he offered to give them a boat ride 495 00:23:53,933 --> 00:23:56,061 for a sunset cruise. 496 00:23:57,145 --> 00:24:01,107 So on the evening of May 15th, 1989, 497 00:24:01,149 --> 00:24:03,860 the Canadian tour showed up by herself 498 00:24:03,902 --> 00:24:06,154 for the evening cruise. 499 00:24:06,196 --> 00:24:08,239 Her friend did not want to go. 500 00:24:09,657 --> 00:24:12,077 They went ahead on the boat, 501 00:24:12,118 --> 00:24:14,579 everything seemed fine. 502 00:24:14,621 --> 00:24:17,665 DET. LEEDY: She wasn't threatened by him in any way. 503 00:24:17,707 --> 00:24:20,043 She thought he was nice. 504 00:24:20,085 --> 00:24:22,295 It was getting dark and she asked 505 00:24:22,337 --> 00:24:25,006 that he take her back to the dock. 506 00:24:25,048 --> 00:24:28,468 He tried to talk her into having sex with him. 507 00:24:28,510 --> 00:24:31,012 She made it clear she wanted nothing to do with that. 508 00:24:31,054 --> 00:24:34,766 She wasn't interested in him in that way. 509 00:24:34,808 --> 00:24:38,478 He told her that he was gonna have sex with her. 510 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,399 He demanded that she cooperate with him. 511 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:44,818 He then became very aggressive with her. 512 00:24:44,859 --> 00:24:46,069 When she's screaming, 513 00:24:46,111 --> 00:24:47,904 he threatened to duct tape her mouth 514 00:24:47,946 --> 00:24:50,782 if she didn't stop screaming. 515 00:24:50,824 --> 00:24:53,827 DET. LEEDY: He asked her if losing her life 516 00:24:53,868 --> 00:24:57,455 was worth it over just sex. 517 00:24:57,497 --> 00:25:01,626 And he ended up sexually assaulting her. 518 00:25:01,668 --> 00:25:04,004 DET. LEEDY: They took her back to the dock 519 00:25:04,045 --> 00:25:06,673 and he turned around and left. 520 00:25:06,715 --> 00:25:08,842 SGT. CONNOR-DUBINA: There were major similarities 521 00:25:08,883 --> 00:25:13,346 between the rape case and the Rogers homicide. 522 00:25:13,388 --> 00:25:17,892 Most notably is the date range within two weeks. 523 00:25:17,934 --> 00:25:20,145 Secondly, both the Rogers family 524 00:25:20,186 --> 00:25:22,022 and the Canadian tourist 525 00:25:22,063 --> 00:25:24,774 were visiting here in Florida. 526 00:25:24,816 --> 00:25:26,735 You also have the boat ride. 527 00:25:26,776 --> 00:25:28,236 He had a blue and white boat 528 00:25:28,278 --> 00:25:30,864 and he said if she didn't stop screaming, 529 00:25:30,905 --> 00:25:33,700 he would duct tape her mouth. 530 00:25:33,742 --> 00:25:37,746 The Rogers women had duct tape over their mouths 531 00:25:37,787 --> 00:25:41,374 when they were found. 532 00:25:41,416 --> 00:25:43,752 DOUGLAS: We believe, based on the similarities 533 00:25:43,793 --> 00:25:45,128 between the two crimes, 534 00:25:45,170 --> 00:25:47,172 that the rape and the family murders 535 00:25:47,213 --> 00:25:50,091 may have been committed by the same sail. 536 00:25:51,676 --> 00:25:54,095 SGT. CONNOR-DUBINA: In a way, it's almost eerie 537 00:25:54,137 --> 00:25:57,849 because the Canadian tourist's statements 538 00:25:57,891 --> 00:26:00,018 was what probably happened 539 00:26:00,060 --> 00:26:03,313 to the victims on the Rogers case, 540 00:26:03,355 --> 00:26:06,900 and it was almost like they were speaking from the grave. 541 00:26:06,941 --> 00:26:10,862 [dramatic music playing] 542 00:26:15,700 --> 00:26:19,245 DOUGLAS: The rape victim had been told by her assailant 543 00:26:19,287 --> 00:26:21,414 that he owned an aluminum business. 544 00:26:21,456 --> 00:26:23,333 He'd also told her that he lived 545 00:26:23,375 --> 00:26:27,629 about two hours away by boat from Madeira Beach. 546 00:26:27,671 --> 00:26:31,049 We knew he owned a boat, that we had all these details 547 00:26:31,091 --> 00:26:34,260 that if we could find a suspect we could compare. 548 00:26:36,012 --> 00:26:38,682 SGT. MOORE: The composite was released to the public 549 00:26:38,723 --> 00:26:41,142 and it generated a lot of leads. 550 00:26:41,184 --> 00:26:44,187 However, none of those leads panned out. 551 00:26:44,229 --> 00:26:46,856 So, over the next couple of months, 552 00:26:46,898 --> 00:26:50,652 nothing much was happening on the investigation. 553 00:26:52,696 --> 00:26:56,282 DOUGLAS: After a year or so, the tip started drawing up. 554 00:26:56,324 --> 00:26:58,618 When that happened, there was an intense amount 555 00:26:58,660 --> 00:27:00,829 of frustration and an intense amount of concern 556 00:27:00,870 --> 00:27:04,624 that we might never bring justice to the Rogers family. 557 00:27:08,086 --> 00:27:11,172 DET. LEEDY: In January of 1991, 558 00:27:11,214 --> 00:27:13,758 uh, we were doing a lot of investigative work 559 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,511 for the Rogers family trying to find someone 560 00:27:16,553 --> 00:27:19,347 who would have written the direction for them. 561 00:27:19,389 --> 00:27:21,683 We compared handwriting samples 562 00:27:21,725 --> 00:27:23,810 of all the police officers 563 00:27:23,852 --> 00:27:26,646 and deputies who worked in Tampa. 564 00:27:26,688 --> 00:27:29,107 Firefighters, we checked their handwriting 565 00:27:29,149 --> 00:27:32,610 because they're people normally people trust. 566 00:27:32,652 --> 00:27:33,987 We didn't find anyone 567 00:27:34,029 --> 00:27:37,490 whose handwriting was even close. 568 00:27:37,532 --> 00:27:40,076 We checked all of the aluminum businesses 569 00:27:40,118 --> 00:27:42,287 in Tampa because the man who raped 570 00:27:42,328 --> 00:27:44,080 our Canadian tourist 571 00:27:44,122 --> 00:27:47,625 said he had an aluminum business. 572 00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:49,711 We came up with nothing. 573 00:27:51,171 --> 00:27:53,256 Things were going just too slow. 574 00:27:53,298 --> 00:27:56,676 The case wasn't being worked as much. 575 00:27:56,718 --> 00:27:59,429 The detectives who were originally assigned 576 00:27:59,471 --> 00:28:01,890 the case had other homicide cases 577 00:28:01,931 --> 00:28:03,850 that they had to work. 578 00:28:03,892 --> 00:28:06,353 And then a lot of time passed. 579 00:28:08,396 --> 00:28:10,940 In February of 1992, 580 00:28:10,982 --> 00:28:14,027 about two and a half years since the murders, 581 00:28:14,069 --> 00:28:16,696 we had a new chief by that time. 582 00:28:16,738 --> 00:28:21,368 He said he was going to shut us down. 583 00:28:21,409 --> 00:28:24,621 He felt like if we didn't solve it by this time, 584 00:28:24,662 --> 00:28:27,624 the chances of us solving it were very slim, 585 00:28:27,665 --> 00:28:31,169 so he was gonna shut us down in six months. 586 00:28:31,211 --> 00:28:32,545 DOUGLAS: There was tremendous worry 587 00:28:32,587 --> 00:28:35,423 that we would never solve the crime. 588 00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:39,636 DET. LEEDY: We put the family's pictures 589 00:28:39,678 --> 00:28:41,137 on billboards. 590 00:28:41,179 --> 00:28:43,515 There were so many leads that came in. 591 00:28:43,556 --> 00:28:45,934 We got a call that someone thought 592 00:28:45,975 --> 00:28:47,811 one of our police officers 593 00:28:47,852 --> 00:28:50,313 on the Saint Petersburg Police Department 594 00:28:50,355 --> 00:28:51,981 did the murders. 595 00:28:52,023 --> 00:28:54,401 DET.GEOGHEGAN: Police officer was also a marine 596 00:28:54,442 --> 00:28:57,696 patrol officer that knew the Tampa Bay waters, 597 00:28:57,737 --> 00:29:04,953 and lived in Tampa. 598 00:29:04,994 --> 00:29:08,039 ramDET. LEEDY: The new chief decided that he was gonna have 599 00:29:08,081 --> 00:29:10,583 to call it quits on the investigation 600 00:29:10,625 --> 00:29:14,129 of the murders of the Rogers family. 601 00:29:14,170 --> 00:29:18,299 He didn't have enough confidence in our ability 602 00:29:18,341 --> 00:29:20,135 to solve this case. 603 00:29:20,176 --> 00:29:22,679 DET. JAMES: Every morning, we would have briefings 604 00:29:22,721 --> 00:29:26,474 and talk about the case, talk about things we could do. 605 00:29:26,516 --> 00:29:28,852 So I thought that maybe putting billboards up 606 00:29:28,893 --> 00:29:31,980 near where the crime had actually occurred 607 00:29:32,022 --> 00:29:33,648 might generate more leads. 608 00:29:33,690 --> 00:29:36,443 I ended up calling the actual billboard companies 609 00:29:36,484 --> 00:29:39,320 and I was able to get the spaces 610 00:29:39,362 --> 00:29:42,032 for the billboards given to us for free. 611 00:29:42,073 --> 00:29:45,493 So, I had asked my father if he could maybe pay 612 00:29:45,535 --> 00:29:48,079 for the printing of the actual billboards, 613 00:29:48,121 --> 00:29:51,166 and he agreed, and we got them printed. 614 00:29:51,207 --> 00:29:54,669 DET. LEEDY: Around the middle of May of 1992, 615 00:29:54,711 --> 00:29:58,506 we put the Rogers family's pictures on billboards. 616 00:29:58,548 --> 00:30:00,884 Five of them throughout Tampa. 617 00:30:02,177 --> 00:30:04,179 At the same time we did that, 618 00:30:04,220 --> 00:30:07,265 Sergeant Moore made a bold decision 619 00:30:07,307 --> 00:30:09,434 to publicize the one piece of evidence 620 00:30:09,476 --> 00:30:11,603 we did have on the case. 621 00:30:11,644 --> 00:30:15,899 A picture of the brochure with the handwriting on it. 622 00:30:17,067 --> 00:30:19,486 SGT. MOORE: And then I stuck my neck out a lot 623 00:30:19,527 --> 00:30:22,280 when I said if you find the person 624 00:30:22,322 --> 00:30:24,366 who wrote this handwriting, 625 00:30:24,407 --> 00:30:26,576 you'll find the killer. 626 00:30:26,618 --> 00:30:28,745 DET. LEEDY: There were so many leads that came in 627 00:30:28,787 --> 00:30:31,915 after the newspaper article about the handwriting. 628 00:30:31,956 --> 00:30:34,918 In the beginning of June of 1992, 629 00:30:34,959 --> 00:30:37,420 we got a call that someone thought 630 00:30:37,462 --> 00:30:39,589 one of our police officers 631 00:30:39,631 --> 00:30:43,718 on the Saint Petersburg Police Department did the murders. 632 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:48,264 It was a male caller. He refused to identify himself. 633 00:30:48,306 --> 00:30:53,645 He described this police officer as friendly. 634 00:30:53,687 --> 00:30:57,190 He had a blue and white boat. 635 00:30:57,232 --> 00:30:59,693 Spent a lot of time a lot of time on his boat. 636 00:30:59,734 --> 00:31:03,029 DET. GEOGHEGAN: Police officer was also a marine patrol officer 637 00:31:03,071 --> 00:31:06,825 that knew the Tampa Bay waters and lived in Tampa. 638 00:31:06,866 --> 00:31:09,494 DET. LEEDY: The police officer matched the description 639 00:31:09,536 --> 00:31:12,831 of the suspect who killed the Rogers family. 640 00:31:12,872 --> 00:31:17,419 So we pulled credit card records, phone records. 641 00:31:17,460 --> 00:31:19,129 DET. GEOGHEGAN: We set up surveillance 642 00:31:19,170 --> 00:31:21,214 on his house and him. 643 00:31:21,256 --> 00:31:25,719 DET. LEEDY: We surveilled him for probably a month. 644 00:31:27,595 --> 00:31:29,681 We ended up interviewing him. 645 00:31:29,723 --> 00:31:34,269 The officer was very shocked that he was named as a suspect. 646 00:31:34,310 --> 00:31:35,812 He was very cooperative. 647 00:31:35,854 --> 00:31:39,607 He was giving us any information that we wanted. 648 00:31:39,649 --> 00:31:41,693 We had already compared his handwriting 649 00:31:41,735 --> 00:31:45,238 from police reports and other documents we had. 650 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:47,490 So we knew the handwriting didn't match 651 00:31:47,532 --> 00:31:50,577 and the composite also didn't match. 652 00:31:52,370 --> 00:31:55,790 So we managed to find out who the caller was 653 00:31:55,832 --> 00:32:00,003 and we interviewed the caller who called in on him. 654 00:32:00,045 --> 00:32:01,838 Turns out the caller 655 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,674 didn't like this particular police officer. 656 00:32:04,716 --> 00:32:09,262 Turns out that it was personal. He had a grudge against him. 657 00:32:09,304 --> 00:32:12,849 We had already spent about six weeks on this lead. 658 00:32:12,891 --> 00:32:15,852 But we felt very comfortable when we finished with everything 659 00:32:15,894 --> 00:32:19,856 that we had eliminated the police officer. 660 00:32:22,150 --> 00:32:25,904 So at this point, we still didn't have a suspect. 661 00:32:25,945 --> 00:32:28,698 And we wanted to do whatever else we could do 662 00:32:28,740 --> 00:32:32,535 before we were shut down in a couple months. 663 00:32:32,577 --> 00:32:35,663 Sgt. Moore thought if we put the handwriting 664 00:32:35,705 --> 00:32:37,832 from the brochure in the newspaper 665 00:32:37,874 --> 00:32:40,960 why not put the handwriting on billboards 666 00:32:41,002 --> 00:32:45,799 over in Tampa at a couple of key locations? 667 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:50,845 So those billboards went up on July 30th, 1992 668 00:32:50,887 --> 00:32:54,641 and on July 31, the very next day, 669 00:32:54,683 --> 00:32:58,603 we got a call from Tampa woman named Joanne Steffi 670 00:32:58,645 --> 00:33:01,356 and she was very angry. 671 00:33:01,398 --> 00:33:03,358 She said she already told us 672 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,902 who the Rogers family killer was. 673 00:33:05,944 --> 00:33:10,156 She already sent us a copy of the killer's handwriting 674 00:33:10,198 --> 00:33:11,866 six weeks earlier 675 00:33:11,908 --> 00:33:15,745 right after the handwriting appeared in the newspaper. 676 00:33:15,787 --> 00:33:18,707 At that time, she faxed over to us 677 00:33:18,748 --> 00:33:21,876 a copy of a contract, 678 00:33:21,918 --> 00:33:31,970 which she believed matched what we had published 679 00:33:31,970 --> 00:33:36,933 which she believed matched what we had published 680 00:33:36,975 --> 00:33:38,977 in th about that obviouslyesting 681 00:33:39,019 --> 00:33:41,354 was that the Canadian woman who had been raped 682 00:33:41,396 --> 00:33:45,692 said that that was the type of work her rapist did. 683 00:33:45,734 --> 00:33:48,945 DET. LEEDY: She identified this guy as Oba Chandler. 684 00:33:50,739 --> 00:34:05,670 So Joanne Steffi went to her neighbor 685 00:34:05,712 --> 00:34:09,215 and got a copy of Oba Chandler's contract. 686 00:34:09,257 --> 00:34:12,177 DET. GEOGHEGAN: Joanne Steffi said the time of the murders, 687 00:34:12,218 --> 00:34:15,096 she had lived next door to Oba Chandler. 688 00:34:15,138 --> 00:34:19,684 He had lived on the water. He had a blue and white boat. 689 00:34:19,726 --> 00:34:22,354 DET. LEEDY: Joanne Steffi said he sold the boat 690 00:34:22,395 --> 00:34:24,105 shortly after the murders, 691 00:34:24,147 --> 00:34:30,278 and he moved away within a year after the murders. 692 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:31,946 SGT. MOORE: We looked at it and we said 693 00:34:31,988 --> 00:34:34,908 this really looks like the handwriting. 694 00:34:34,949 --> 00:34:37,660 We sent this contract from Oba Chandler 695 00:34:37,702 --> 00:34:41,623 to a certified handwriting expert. 696 00:34:41,664 --> 00:34:43,124 We got a report back from them 697 00:34:43,166 --> 00:34:45,960 that said this was the same handwriting. 698 00:34:46,002 --> 00:34:51,341 So at that point, we were able to identify who the suspect was, 699 00:34:51,383 --> 00:34:53,760 Oba Chandler. 700 00:34:53,802 --> 00:34:55,762 [dramatic music playing] 701 00:34:55,804 --> 00:35:00,350 DET. LEEDY: So we started doing criminal record checks on him, 702 00:35:00,392 --> 00:35:02,310 driver's license checks, 703 00:35:02,352 --> 00:35:05,230 he had 18 arrests as a juvenile, 704 00:35:05,271 --> 00:35:09,192 he had felony arrests as an adult for rape, 705 00:35:09,234 --> 00:35:14,364 robbery, kidnapping, armed robbery, escape. 706 00:35:16,157 --> 00:35:18,827 SGT. MOORE: Pictures of Chandler matched very well 707 00:35:18,868 --> 00:35:22,872 the composite that we got from the Canadian victim. 708 00:35:28,712 --> 00:35:30,422 DOUGLAS: Detectives flew to Toronto, 709 00:35:30,463 --> 00:35:31,673 I was with them. 710 00:35:31,715 --> 00:35:34,175 They interviewed the rape victim. 711 00:35:34,217 --> 00:35:36,678 SGT. MOORE: We showed her a photo lineup 712 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:38,555 and she picked Oba Chandler out 713 00:35:38,596 --> 00:35:41,099 as the man who assaulted her. 714 00:35:43,018 --> 00:35:45,645 DOUGLAS: Once he was identified by the rape victim, 715 00:35:45,687 --> 00:35:48,690 we prepared an arrest warrant on the rape charges. 716 00:35:48,732 --> 00:35:52,193 I think he intended to murder the rape victim from Canada 717 00:35:52,235 --> 00:35:54,821 and would have murdered a friend had she come along, 718 00:35:54,863 --> 00:35:57,532 but he didn't because there was a witness 719 00:35:57,574 --> 00:36:00,827 left on land who could identify. 720 00:36:00,869 --> 00:36:03,038 DET. LEEDY: Through record checks on him, 721 00:36:03,079 --> 00:36:06,207 we found out he had had several children. 722 00:36:06,249 --> 00:36:07,876 But at this time, 723 00:36:07,917 --> 00:36:10,962 he was married to a woman named Debra 724 00:36:11,004 --> 00:36:13,882 and he had a little three-year old daughter. 725 00:36:13,923 --> 00:36:16,509 They were living in Port Orange 726 00:36:16,551 --> 00:36:19,012 on the East Coast of Florida. 727 00:36:20,847 --> 00:36:22,891 When we were gonna arrest him, 728 00:36:22,932 --> 00:36:24,517 Chandler left town. 729 00:36:24,559 --> 00:36:27,854 Our surveillance team followed Chandler. 730 00:36:27,896 --> 00:36:29,856 He was gone for a week 731 00:36:29,898 --> 00:36:34,277 and we were still tracking him when he was on his way home. 732 00:36:34,319 --> 00:36:37,238 He stopped at a service station for gas. 733 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,950 Our units moved in on him and arrested him 734 00:36:40,992 --> 00:36:44,037 for the rape of a Canadian victim. 735 00:36:44,996 --> 00:36:46,623 CRAIG: When the police finally slapped 736 00:36:46,664 --> 00:36:48,208 the cuffs on Oba Chandler, 737 00:36:48,249 --> 00:36:50,627 I think the general feeling was one of tremendous relief 738 00:36:50,669 --> 00:36:53,421 that they had finally made an arrest. 739 00:36:53,463 --> 00:36:54,673 People were kind of baffled 740 00:36:54,714 --> 00:36:56,424 about what his motivations were, 741 00:36:56,466 --> 00:36:57,759 why he would do such a thing 742 00:36:57,801 --> 00:36:59,594 because he just didn't look like the image 743 00:36:59,636 --> 00:37:02,555 you would have of this evil triple killer. 744 00:37:04,015 --> 00:37:05,600 SGT. MOORE: It's been three years 745 00:37:05,642 --> 00:37:07,185 and we finally have the guy 746 00:37:07,227 --> 00:37:09,854 in custody that murdered the three Rogers women 747 00:37:09,896 --> 00:37:12,899 and raped the Canadian tourist also. 748 00:37:12,941 --> 00:37:15,110 So we had to begin to try and develop 749 00:37:15,151 --> 00:37:18,446 what would give us enough to charge 750 00:37:18,863 --> 00:37:21,324 Once we find out Oba Chandler's name, 751 00:37:29,749 --> 00:37:31,167 instead of gearing down, 752 00:37:31,209 --> 00:37:33,336 which is what the chief of police at the time 753 00:37:33,378 --> 00:37:37,173 wanted us to do, we had the gear up. 754 00:37:37,215 --> 00:37:39,884 DET. LEEDY: Once we obtained his phone records, 755 00:37:39,926 --> 00:37:42,137 we noticed that there was phone calls 756 00:37:42,178 --> 00:37:45,598 from Chandler's boat through the marine operator 757 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:49,561 to his home phone during the early morning hours 758 00:37:49,602 --> 00:37:51,438 the night of the murders. 759 00:37:52,731 --> 00:37:55,108 SGT. MOORE: There we had the silver bullet 760 00:37:55,150 --> 00:37:59,404 that tied him directly to the water on that night. 761 00:37:59,446 --> 00:38:01,698 We had his handwriting on their brochure 762 00:38:01,740 --> 00:38:03,241 proving that he met them. 763 00:38:03,283 --> 00:38:05,035 We have a blue and white boat. 764 00:38:05,076 --> 00:38:07,829 And of course, we have him making phone calls 765 00:38:07,871 --> 00:38:11,291 on the night that the Roger's women disappeared. 766 00:38:11,332 --> 00:38:14,127 That was enough for the State Attorney's Office 767 00:38:14,169 --> 00:38:18,298 to allow us to charge him with the murders. 768 00:38:23,345 --> 00:38:25,430 DOUGLAS: We intended to seek the death penalty 769 00:38:25,472 --> 00:38:27,098 against Chandler. 770 00:38:27,140 --> 00:38:29,434 We knew it was the right guy without question. 771 00:38:29,476 --> 00:38:30,935 But we didn't take it for granted 772 00:38:30,977 --> 00:38:33,396 that anything was gonna be easy. 773 00:38:33,438 --> 00:38:35,982 ATTORNEY: Folks, consider the terror, 774 00:38:36,024 --> 00:38:37,692 the feelings those victims felt 775 00:38:37,734 --> 00:38:39,903 when they knew that they would be next. 776 00:38:39,944 --> 00:38:41,571 And then the death. 777 00:38:41,613 --> 00:38:44,783 Strangulation at the hands 778 00:38:44,824 --> 00:38:47,619 of that man right there, 779 00:38:47,660 --> 00:38:49,788 Oba Chandler. 780 00:38:49,829 --> 00:38:52,165 CRAIG: During the trial, there was some speculation 781 00:38:52,207 --> 00:38:53,792 that the prosecutors might not be able 782 00:38:53,833 --> 00:38:55,502 to get a conviction just because 783 00:38:55,543 --> 00:38:57,587 they really didn't have much in the way of physical evidence 784 00:38:57,629 --> 00:39:00,298 to link Oba Chandler to the murders. 785 00:39:00,340 --> 00:39:03,051 They had the tourism brochure with his handwriting. 786 00:39:03,093 --> 00:39:04,886 They had phone records, 787 00:39:04,928 --> 00:39:07,097 but that didn't prove that he had absolutely 788 00:39:07,138 --> 00:39:09,349 been the one who had taken these women out on a boat 789 00:39:09,391 --> 00:39:10,809 and thrown them overboard 790 00:39:10,850 --> 00:39:14,270 with ropes attached to concrete blocks. 791 00:39:23,238 --> 00:39:25,073 DOUGLAS: When the rape victim took the stand, 792 00:39:25,115 --> 00:39:28,451 we had a witness that could provide an explanation 793 00:39:28,493 --> 00:39:30,662 of what had happened to the Rogers women 794 00:39:30,704 --> 00:39:32,747 that they couldn't provide. 795 00:39:32,789 --> 00:39:37,210 She explained that this man was so convincing to her 796 00:39:37,252 --> 00:39:40,547 that she got on a boat with him even though he was a stranger, 797 00:39:40,588 --> 00:39:44,217 and went out at night in the middle of Tampa Bay. 798 00:39:44,259 --> 00:39:46,302 It's made it completely understandable 799 00:39:46,344 --> 00:39:48,847 to the jurors that Chandler could, 800 00:39:48,888 --> 00:39:50,640 in fact, accomplish that. 801 00:39:50,682 --> 00:39:53,476 CRAIG: The Canadian tourist was very effective. 802 00:39:53,518 --> 00:39:55,520 However, that's not direct evidence 803 00:39:55,562 --> 00:39:58,648 that he had actually killed these women. 804 00:39:58,690 --> 00:40:00,942 The defense attorney was doing a very good job 805 00:40:00,984 --> 00:40:02,652 of raising those reasonable doubts. 806 00:40:02,694 --> 00:40:06,197 And it felt like the case could go either way. 807 00:40:18,293 --> 00:40:19,878 DOUGLAS: The defense announced that Oba Chandler 808 00:40:19,919 --> 00:40:22,672 was gonna take the stand and deny doing it. 809 00:40:22,714 --> 00:40:25,342 I was shocked. 810 00:40:25,383 --> 00:40:26,968 No one saw that coming. 811 00:40:27,010 --> 00:40:29,763 That was a complete and utter surprise. 812 00:40:40,690 --> 00:40:43,360 SGT. MOORE: He did admit to meeting the Rogers women 813 00:40:43,401 --> 00:40:47,155 at a gas station and he did write on the brochure 814 00:40:47,197 --> 00:40:48,656 and gave them the instructions. 815 00:40:48,698 --> 00:40:52,619 But he said that that's all he did. 816 00:40:57,832 --> 00:40:59,626 DET. LEEDY: Because we had the phone records 817 00:40:59,668 --> 00:41:02,837 putting him on the water the night of the murders, 818 00:41:02,879 --> 00:41:06,174 he had to admit that he was out there. 819 00:41:16,935 --> 00:41:19,062 DET. LEEDY: Chandler said there was a gas leak 820 00:41:19,104 --> 00:41:22,232 and all the gas had leaked into the water. 821 00:41:26,194 --> 00:41:27,946 SGT. MOORE: And he said he was calling his wife 822 00:41:27,987 --> 00:41:31,282 from the boat, telling her that he was broke down, 823 00:41:31,324 --> 00:41:35,370 so that was his explanation for the calls that night. 824 00:41:43,837 --> 00:41:46,214 DOUGLAS: In rebuttal, we had a mechanic 825 00:41:46,256 --> 00:41:51,261 absolutely destroyed Chandler's version of events. 826 00:42:02,522 --> 00:42:04,149 CRAIG: The boat mechanic testified 827 00:42:04,190 --> 00:42:06,401 that the fuel line leak was actually above 828 00:42:06,443 --> 00:42:08,445 where the fuel would be coming from 829 00:42:08,486 --> 00:42:10,613 so that the only way that could possibly work 830 00:42:10,655 --> 00:42:13,158 is if gravity had somehow reversed itself 831 00:42:13,199 --> 00:42:14,868 on board over his boat. 832 00:42:16,202 --> 00:42:17,829 SGT. MOORE: When the trial concluded, 833 00:42:17,871 --> 00:42:21,374 and it was given to the jury to make their decision, 834 00:42:21,416 --> 00:42:23,710 they came back with a verdict. 835 00:42:31,593 --> 00:42:34,220 Guilty on all three counts of murder. 836 00:42:36,556 --> 00:42:39,976 And then they came back later with the sentencing. 837 00:42:49,444 --> 00:42:51,821 SGT. MOORE: It was a moment of thank God. 838 00:42:51,863 --> 00:42:57,160 Now, we've got this monster in human form off the street. 839 00:42:57,202 --> 00:42:59,204 I believe that he's finally getting 840 00:42:59,245 --> 00:43:01,331 the justice he deserves. 841 00:43:02,457 --> 00:43:06,628 [dramatic music playing] 842 00:43:13,426 --> 00:43:15,804 SGT. MOORE: I can't even imagine what Mr. Rogers 843 00:43:15,845 --> 00:43:20,141 was going through to know what happened to his wife 844 00:43:20,183 --> 00:43:22,310 and his two daughters 845 00:43:22,352 --> 00:43:24,437 to be taken away from him like this 846 00:43:24,479 --> 00:43:25,897 when they were so young 847 00:43:25,939 --> 00:43:29,192 and they had so much more life to live. 848 00:43:29,234 --> 00:43:30,568 And he has to live with this 849 00:43:30,610 --> 00:43:33,905 the rest of his life forever. 850 00:43:33,947 --> 00:43:34,072 [dramatic music playing]