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our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music]
00:02:44
life in the waterfront city of Tampa Florida was peaceful for 47 year old Joanne Steffy
00:02:51
her Bungalow style house backed on to a man-made Canal that granted access to the sparkling Blue Waters of Tampa Bay
00:02:59
small boats headed to and from the harbor putted past to Joanne's home creating a relaxing coastal-like
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environment Florida's warmth and sunshine added to the appealing atmosphere in December 1988 a house for sale two
00:03:17
doors down from Joann's was purchased by a couple with a young daughter in a street where residents knew one
00:03:24
another and rarely moved the new neighbors caused the stir while the woman and child were rarely
00:03:31
seen the men of the house was seemingly always outside he was big and Burly with a friendly and
00:03:38
to chatty disposition he encouraged people to call him Obi after Obi-Wan Kenobi a mentor type
00:03:47
character from the popular sci-fi film Star Wars with these laid-back attitude casual
00:03:53
attire and blue and white powerboat OB fit right in in time the novelty of his family's
00:04:01
arrival died down and they blended into the neighborhood there was just one problem
00:04:10
Obi gave Joanne Steffy the creeps she found his banter superficial and fake and he had a tendency to appear out
00:04:19
of nowhere and insert himself into private conversations Joanne had also developed a hunch that
00:04:26
he was hiding something she add her suspicions to another neighbor but they considered Obi
00:04:33
harmless nevertheless Joanne took to avoiding Obi whenever possible on a late Saturday night in early 1990
00:04:44
Joanne was in her kitchen when she glanced outside a large figure was loitering in the glow
00:04:52
of a street light close to Joanne's front door it was Obi he looked to be staring intently at
00:05:00
Joanne's house Joanne turned off the lights to give the impression she was going to bed then
00:05:07
positioned herself by a window she peered out Obi remained poor his attention transfixed on Joanne's home
00:05:19
five minutes tipped by before he finally moved as if awoken from a spell he called out something and a little
00:05:28
white dog ran up to his feet Obi then wandered off in the direction of his home [Music]
00:05:53
[Music] the Rogers family worked hard on their dairy farm in the small village of
00:06:05
Wilshire Ohio 37 year old patriarch Hal Rogers maintained the 300 acre property full
00:06:13
time house 36 year old wife Joan better known as Joe helped out Joe also worked tonights as a forklift
00:06:24
operator even the couple's two teenage daughters chipped in 17 year old Michelle and 14 year old
00:06:34
Christy Rogers juggled their schoolwork with Farm chores when it came time for the family to take
00:06:41
a much needed break they excitedly began planning a trip to Florida the southern coast with its hundreds of
00:06:50
miles of beaches and a festive atmosphere offered a welcome change to the Rogers Inland rural lifestyle
00:06:58
importantly Florida was the home of the Disney World theme park and Resort while Hal and Joe had been on a few
00:07:07
Interstate trips throughout their long relationship visiting Florida would Mark the first time Michelle and Christy had
00:07:14
left Ohio Michelle eagerly crossed off each passing day on her calendar until her
00:07:21
long-awaited holiday finally commenced on Friday May 26 1989. Hal wished he could go to Florida but
00:07:31
his farm needed constant upkeep so he decided to stay home at 1 30 pm he bid Joe Michelle and
00:07:40
Christy farewell the women piled into the family car a two-door blue ultimobile Calais
00:07:49
Joe drove down the dirt driveway headed for Interstate 75. the highway would take them over 1 000
00:07:58
miles south through the streets of Kentucky Tennessee and to Georgia before reaching Florida
00:08:06
the trio were due back on Sunday June 4 at the latest as Joe had to work on Monday night
00:08:13
days into their trip Howell received a postcard from Florida's Central City Orlando
00:08:20
it contained a message penned by Joe that read leaving for Disney World for three
00:08:26
nights weather is hot and humidity is very high kids having a great time dragging me everywhere
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better go have to get Christy out of bed love you take care don't work too hard when Sunday June 4 arrived Hal expected
00:08:47
the Ultimo Bill to pull up at any moment yet the day wore on with no sign of his
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family when Joe and the girls hadn't returned by Nightfall Hal began ringing around to
00:09:01
see if someone else had heard from them he discovered that Michelle had called her boyfriend three days earlier on
00:09:09
Thursday June 1. the 10-minute call took place at around a lunchtime and had originated from a
00:09:16
hotel room in the city of Tampa Michelle had gushed to her boyfriend about how much fun she was having
00:09:24
the only bad thing she had to say was that she and Christy wanted to go into the ocean but their mother wouldn't let
00:09:30
them because they couldn't swim Hal Rogers went to bed that night concerned but told himself that Joe and
00:09:39
the girls had probably just extended their holiday for another night perhaps they had found an interesting
00:09:46
place to stay on the way home Hal was certain they would reunite on Monday meanwhile in Tampa police were working
00:09:59
diligently into the night following a disturbing discovery earlier that day the Coast Guard had
00:10:07
received a frantic radio call from a man on a sailboat in Tampa Bay he had cited something floating in the
00:10:15
water and had moved in for a closer look it was the lifeless body of a woman attempts to lift the body out of the
00:10:25
water were hampered by a heavy object that was attached to the woman's neck via a thin yellow robe
00:10:33
after struggling to retrieve the body for 30 minutes the Coast Guard had no choice but to cut the rope
00:10:40
the weight that anchored the body sank to the depths allowing responders to lift the woman's body out with ease
00:10:48
she was naked from the waist down her ankles and wrists were hog-tied with rope duct tape had been placed over her mouth
00:10:59
realizing the gravity of the situation the Coast Guard alerted the police who organized to meet them at the shore
00:11:08
within minutes of having retrieved this body the Coast Guard received another emergency call
00:11:15
a second body had been spotted by a Boda four miles away it was another woman she was also partially naked hogtied and
00:11:26
gagged with duct tape the victim had managed to free one of her hands and to look to have tried to
00:11:33
remove the tape covering her mouth there was also a thin yellow rope around her neck
00:11:41
it was tied to a heavy cinder block that responders were able to recover with the
00:11:46
body just as the Coast Guard was traveling back to shore to meet with police a third woman's body was found in the bay
00:11:55
two miles from the second the victims presented the same way making it clear that their murders were
00:12:04
connected they had been in the water for about two days which had expedited decomposition
00:12:10
and washed away key evidence the fact that all three were found naked from the waist down indicated that the
00:12:19
crime was sexually motivated title analysis confirmed the women had entered the water from a boat as they
00:12:28
wouldn't have reached a deep water in their condition from a bridge or the shoreline
00:12:33
the cinder blocks tied to their necks were a deliberate act to weigh their bodies down
00:12:40
none of the bodies had knife or bullet wounds or anything else to indicate a violent cause of death
00:12:47
this led a medical examiner to assume that they had entered the water while still alive
00:12:54
it could not be ascertained if the women had died from strangulation or drowning
00:13:00
their official cause of death was listed as asphyxia no identification was found with the
00:13:09
victims their fingerprints were taken but they didn't match any on record scouring Tampa Bay for evidence came up
00:13:18
drier when speaking to the Press authorities were up front they had no motive no suspects and no
00:13:28
leads no one matching the victim's descriptions had been reported missing in the area recently
00:13:36
this led police to believe that the women were from elsewhere Florida was a tourist Hot Spot
00:13:44
especially in the warmer months a memo was sent to local hotel owners to be on the lookout for any female guests
00:13:53
who had failed to check out four days after the bodies were discovered a housekeeper was going about
00:14:03
her work day she was employed at the Days Inn a hotel in the Bayside Tampa neighborhood of
00:14:10
Rocky Point she entered room 251. the two double beds within were neatly made -up and toiletries were on the bathroom
00:14:23
counter and clothing was scattered on the dark teal carpet the hotel room had appeared exactly the
00:14:30
same for the previous four days the housekeeper informed her manager the guests are signed to room 251 hadn't
00:14:41
checked out yet their booking was under the name Rogers and applied to Joe Rogers and her two
00:14:48
daughters Michelle and Christy they had checked into the room at midday on Thursday June 1 and hadn't been seen
00:14:57
since homicide detectives were informed and arrived at the hotel room where they
00:15:04
recovered Joe Michelle and Christy's fingerprints they were cross-checked with the three
00:15:10
bodies found in nearby Tampa Bay the missing women's dental records were also obtained to facilitate an ID check
00:15:20
there was absolutely no doubt the three murdered women were Joe Michelle and Christy Rogers
00:15:30
there were no signs of a struggle in the Rogers hotel room or anything else distinctly Criminal
00:15:37
a role of camera film was taken into evidence and developed the second last photo depicted Michelle
00:15:44
Rogers sitting on the hotel room's floor although sunburned and weary she did not
00:15:51
appear distressed the photo was taken the day the group had checked in the final photo was taken from the hotel
00:16:00
room's balcony of the sun setting over Tampa Bay this meant the three women had been in
00:16:07
their hotel room at dusk on Thursday June 1. it was unknown where they had gone from
00:16:14
there notably the Rogers blue Oldsmobile wasn't in the hotel parking lot the search for the car encompassed the
00:16:24
nearby perimeter of Tampa Bay given its significance it was soon discovered in a parking spot
00:16:32
at a boat landing closest to the Days Inn there was nothing to suggest anything a
00:16:38
Miss had occurred in relation to the vehicle and only Joe Michelle and Christy's fingerprints were found in and
00:16:45
around it the Oldsmobile contained a book of semi-complete crossword puzzles a half-eaten chocolate bar two decks of
00:16:55
playing cards and a brochure with directions to the Days Inn scribbled on it there was also a piece of paper in the
00:17:03
front that featured Joe Rogers handwriting she had jotted down the directions to
00:17:08
the boat ramp where her car was found and the words blew with white curiously a blue and white colored
00:17:18
powerboat was cited in the car park of the Days Inn on the very day Joe and the girls went missing
00:17:25
the witness recalled the boat was being towed by a dark-colored car this looked to be a promising lead
00:17:32
however blue and white were common boat colors without anything to help detectives
00:17:39
narrow in on this potential clue it hit a dead ant [Music] in the initial stages of their
00:17:47
investigation detectives received close to 1 000 tips all were looked into but none led to the
00:17:55
killer or killers one detective told the Cincinnati Post newspaper that they were putting all
00:18:02
their effort into the case because quote everyone's been shocked by this even among cops you've got a whole family
00:18:12
wiped out practically back in Ohio Hal Rogers was at a loss Joe Michelle and Christy were missing
00:18:24
he had initially convinced himself that they were held up sightseeing but once Joe skipped work hell knew
00:18:32
something was wrong he phoned the local police and Highway Patrol to inform them of the situation
00:18:40
at one stage he was asked by police to provide his wife and children's dental records
00:18:46
he agreed though wasn't quite sure why they were needed by Friday June 9 it had been 14 days
00:18:56
since Hal had seen Joe and the girls that day an unfamiliar car rolled down his driveway
00:19:05
a man got out he said he worked for a newspaper then asked how for a comment on the drowning
00:19:13
murders of Joe Michelle and Christy it was the first Hal had heard of it he spent the day carrying out his
00:19:23
farmwork in shock not knowing what else to do he blamed himself for what happened
00:19:29
believing that if he had gone on the Florida trip then his wife and daughters would still be alive
00:19:38
a joint funeral service was held for Joe Michelle and Christy Rogers over 300 wilshere locals attended a
00:19:47
significant crowd considering the population wasn't much higher Joe was remembered as a hard-working
00:19:54
woman Michelle was intelligent and modest Christy was bubbly and sociable as the Wilshire Community grieved
00:20:04
homicide detectives arrived in town they had come to suspect that the answers they sought weren't in Florida
00:20:13
but closer to home [Music] case File will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
00:20:33
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that's rocketmoney.com case File just over a year before Joe Michelle and Christy Rogers were killed an 18 year
00:23:40
old woman presented to the emergency department of a hospital outside of Wilshire
00:23:46
for the sake of clarity case File will refer to this woman as Zoe Zoe was in a terrified state
00:23:54
she reported that she had been raped at knife point on the Roger's Dairy Farm Zoe identified her attacker as her
00:24:02
roommate 31 year old John Rogers he co-owned the dairy business with his brother Hal
00:24:11
John and Zoe had been residing together in a trailer on site as detailed in the Tampa Bay Times
00:24:19
newspaper John Rogers was known locally for being strange he was an ex-marine with a muscular
00:24:27
build and intimidating presence he talked about missions he had allegedly undertaken for the Secret
00:24:34
Service and Central Intelligence Agency better known as the CIA the content of these stories was enough
00:24:43
to compel locals to keep their distance Zoe lived with the John out of necessity
00:24:49
she desperately needed a place to stay police arrived at the Rogers Farm to question John about Zoe's assault
00:25:00
as they spoke to John in his trailer a detective noticed a briefcase on the floor of the living room area
00:25:08
John said the briefcase contained paperwork he was asked to open it John fiddled with the briefcase lock for
00:25:18
a moment before saying that he had forgotten its combination he was then handed a screwdriver and
00:25:25
told to use it the briefcase actually contained a videotape via photographs and a cassette
00:25:33
tape the videotape featured footage of John's sexually assaulting Zoe the photographs depicted a different
00:25:42
teenager all together she was naked blindfolded and bound the cassette tape was a recording of
00:25:52
this young woman screaming for John Rogers to leave her alone detectives identified this second victim
00:25:59
as John's niece Michelle Rogers when police spoke to Michelle she broke down she revealed that her Uncle John had
00:26:14
been sexually abusing her for almost two years beginning when Michelle was 14 years old she kept a word of the abuse
00:26:23
secret as John had repeatedly threatened to kill her if she spoke out hell and to Joe Rogers had a notice to
00:26:31
their oldest daughter seemed nervous around Jon but thought it was due to their clashing personalities
00:26:38
Michelle protected her younger sister Christy by making sure she was never alone with their uncle
00:26:46
John was arrested in mid-February 1988 and was released on bail pending trial Hal Rogers had put up the money that
00:26:56
secured his brother's Freedom even though Hal's daughter was one of John's victims
00:27:02
Hal later explained that he had once given his word to John that he would get him out of jail no matter what
00:27:10
and how never broke promises he did however make John sell his share of the dairy farm and told him never to
00:27:20
come near his family again the following year John Rogers pleaded a no contest for the rape of Zoe
00:27:31
to spare Michelle Rogers from having to testify the charges pertaining to her assault were dropped
00:27:38
Jon ultimately received a 7 to 25-year sentence a month after the trial Michelle went to
00:27:47
Florida with her mother and sister it was hoped the change of scenery would help her move forward
00:27:54
she was resilient and determined to reclaim her life John Rogers had been to Florida he
00:28:03
visited the state for a six-week holiday while on bail for his sex crimes he went to many of the same locations
00:28:11
that Joe Michelle and Christy would come to visit a year later John was in prison at the time of the
00:28:20
triple homicide leading detectives to wonder had he made good on his previous threats
00:28:27
to Michelle could he have made connections in Florida and organized their head rumors were also circulating that Jon
00:28:37
was involved in a drug and pornography ring apparently Joe was aware providing another motive why Jon would Target the
00:28:46
Rogers women yet there was no way Jon could have known that Joe Michelle or Christy were
00:28:54
in Florida he had no visitors in prison or correspondents with the outside world
00:29:03
John wasn't the only Rogers family member that raised suspicions gossip in wilshere spotlighted Hal
00:29:10
Rogers due to his perceived odd behavior in the aftermath of the murders of his wife and daughters
00:29:18
he didn't cry at their funeral and had taken to wearing tinted glasses a feeling had Arisen within the
00:29:26
community that Hal was hiding something detectives checked Hal's bank records and discovered that he had withdrawn
00:29:35
seven thousand dollars shortly after his family had gone missing Hal explained that he had intended to
00:29:42
use the money to drive to Florida and commence a search he said he preferred to carry cash and
00:29:49
that he kept the seven thousand dollars in his truck's glove compartment Hal still had the money
00:29:57
but detectives were open to the possibility that it might have been intended as payment to someone involved
00:30:04
in the murders while Hal Rogers was enduring the suspicions of his local community those
00:30:12
who knew him well couldn't believe he was being considered a suspect the loss of his entire family had left
00:30:19
him a shell of a man who buried himself in farm work as a distraction hell willingly took part in a polygraph
00:30:28
test while the results couldn't be used in any legal capacity they LED police to
00:30:35
believe he absolutely wasn't involved in the murders they came to view hell as another victim
00:30:42
in the case the Rogers case was featured in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
00:30:52
Bulletin the monthly publication was sent to police departments across the state
00:30:59
it detailed unsolved crimes to facilitate the sharing of information to help generate leads
00:31:07
one florida-based police officer was going through his paperwork four months after the killings when he came across
00:31:13
the latest Bulletin he was aware of the Rogers case due to its notoriety but it was another
00:31:21
unsolved crime that caught his eye for the sake of clarity casefile will refer to the woman involved as Lucy
00:31:32
24 year old Lucy was originally from Ontario in Canada she was visiting Florida on holiday in
00:31:40
May 1989 two weeks before Joe Michelle and Christy's trip on the night of Sunday the 14th Lucy had
00:31:50
dinner with a female friend the pair then walked to a nearby convenience store it was around 9 30 and as the two women
00:32:00
walked through the car park they passed a relatively tall and heavyset man despite having an imposing presence he
00:32:09
struck up a friendly conversation that put Lucy and her friend at ease he introduced himself as Dave Posner
00:32:19
Dave warned the women to be careful saying the crime rate in the area was high he offered them a ride so they wouldn't
00:32:27
have to walk the Dark and Dangerous streets alone Lucy and her friend accepted and got
00:32:34
into Dave's dark colored vehicle it was a Pleasant Drive at one stage Lucy spoke of wanting to go
00:32:43
fishing while in Florida Dave told her that he had a power boat and would be happy to take her out in
00:32:50
Tampa Bay certain her friend would join them Lucy made plans for the three of them to meet
00:32:57
again the following day at 2PM however Lucy's friend didn't want to go she couldn't explain why exactly but
00:33:09
Dave gave her the crepes undeterred Lucy went without her she met Dave as planned and the two
00:33:18
headed out in his blue and white boat the water was rough in the bay so they didn't Venture far
00:33:26
Dave appeared disappointed that Lucy's friend didn't join them but was otherwise upbeat
00:33:33
he made easy conversation talking about his family and mentioning his job as an aluminum salesman
00:33:41
four hours after they had set off Dave dropped Lucy back off at the pier it was 6 30 p.m and the pair were about
00:33:51
to go their separate ways when Dave had an idea he said Tampa Bay was more beautiful at
00:33:59
Sunset and offered to take Lucy and her friend out on the water in an hour's time to experience it
00:34:07
Lucy walked back to where she was staying and to let her friend know but her friend still refused to be around
00:34:14
creepy Dave when Lucy returned to the pier alone Dave became irritated and almost angry
00:34:23
he collected himself and helped Lucy back on his boat as Darkness fell Dave steered his boat
00:34:33
out to deeper waters other vessels disappeared from View and Lucy felt scared she asked to Dave to take her back to
00:34:44
shore he refused and ordered her to sit on his lap Lucy screamed Dave responded bluntly
00:34:55
do you think anyone will hear you he then threatened to duct tape Lucy's mouth shut if she didn't stop
00:35:04
when he made his intentions to rape Lucy clear she refused to give in is it really worth losing your life over
00:35:14
he asked after raping Lucy Dave vomited over the side of his boat he then drove back to land stopping
00:35:25
every so often to vomit some more when the boat raged shallow water Lucy jumped out
00:35:34
Dave told her to watch her step then drove away [Music] Lucy reported the assault and helped
00:35:46
facilitate a composite sketch of her assailant the image depicted a balding and weathered man in his late 30s with blue
00:35:54
eyes short reddish brown hair and a mustache Dave Posner managed to elude police
00:36:02
resulting in the publication of Lucy's case in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Bulletin
00:36:09
reading about Lucy's ordeal alongside the Rogers murders LED one officer to notice the similarities between the two
00:36:17
cases a dark-colored vehicle was mentioned as was a blue and white power boat duct tape sexual assault
00:36:28
all the women were tourists and had their clothing from the waist down removed it was believed to Joe and her daughters
00:36:36
were lured into a boat in a manner similar to that of Lucy hence why their car was at the ramp
00:36:44
a behavior analysis of the Rogers killer conducted by the FBI aligned with Dave Posner
00:36:52
they had described the killer as intelligent with good social skills he was Adept at making people feel at
00:36:59
ease while presenting himself as a regular and hard-working law-abiding citizen his crimes would come as a surprise to
00:37:08
those who knew him due to the Killer's familiarity with the area and the fact he owned a boat he
00:37:15
most certainly lived in Tampa the FBI believed to Joe Michelle and Christy were not his first victims and
00:37:24
that he would strike again locating Dave Posner became a higher priority detectives weighed up the risk of
00:37:34
tracking Dave down versus the chance he'd flee if he knew they were coming for him
00:37:40
the crimes were too significant to take a reserved approach so officers decided to circulate the composite sketch of
00:37:48
Dave in local newspapers in the hopes someone would recognize him [Music] Saturday November 4 1989 was five months
00:38:00
to the day Joe Michelle and Christy Rogers left for their fateful trip to Florida
00:38:07
Tampa resident Joanne Steffy was sitting at her kitchen table reading the paper the Rogers case was being spotlighted
00:38:15
once again as a composite sketch of a possible suspect was now available [Music]
00:38:21
Joanne read about the case but had to set the paper aside upon realizing she was running late for an appointment
00:38:30
as she drove along her street Joanne passed the home belonging to her creepy neighbor locally known as Obi
00:38:39
it suddenly dawned on her Obi resembled the suspect sketch in the Rogers homicide case he also drove a
00:38:49
dark-colored car and owned a blue and white power boat Joanne clipped to the suspect sketch out
00:38:57
of the paper and showed it to her friend and fellow neighbor a woman named Mozelle
00:39:03
Mozelle warned Joanne not to implicate Obi unless Joanne was absolutely certain of her Theory
00:39:11
Joanna grade and took the clipping home where she stuck it to her fridge it remained there until early the
00:39:19
following year when Joanne happened to spot Obi watching her house from the street one night
00:39:27
scared of what Obi might have been capable of Joanne spoke to a deputy sheriff who said he would look into it
00:39:36
weeks passed with no news leading Joanne to assume authorities had investigated Obi and cleared him of any involvement
00:39:44
in the Rogers case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
00:40:04
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deliver quality content two years passed without any breakthroughs in October 1991 a florida-based police
00:43:22
Sergeant named Glenn Moore joined the team investigating the Rogers case it was hoped a fresh pair of eyes might
00:43:30
uncover something previously missed more in the team went over all the information they had
00:43:38
their attention soon turned to a brochure that was found in the Rogers family car
00:43:44
it was for Clearwater Beach a popular Coastal Resort about 15 miles from Tampa the brochure was found to have
00:43:52
originated from a tourist stop near the Georgia Florida border anyone linked to the brochure and
00:44:00
distribution had already been questioned and cleared the brochure featured handwritten
00:44:06
directions to the Rogers tampa-based Hotel whoever scrawled them had a very distinct writing style
00:44:14
they put capital letters among the lower case and their letter Y had a uniquely long tail
00:44:21
this peaked Sergeant Moore's interest the handwriting did not match Joe's Michelle's or Christie's
00:44:31
Sergeant Moore pondered the likelihood that Joe and the girls got lost on route to the Days Inn and had asked someone
00:44:37
for directions the brochure was checked for Prince revealing a partial palm print that
00:44:44
didn't belong to any of the three Rogers women Sergeant Moore came up with a novel idea
00:44:52
he had the handwriting from the brochure printed in newspapers and posted on billboards in the tamper area
00:44:59
it was accompanied with the message who wrote These directions you may know who killed the Rogers family
00:45:09
a 25 000 reward was also on offer as an added incentive Joanne Steffy saw the handwriting sample
00:45:19
in the local paper and took it to her friend Mozelle Mozelle had been listening to Joanne's
00:45:25
worries about their neighbor Obi for some time Obi was an aluminum salesman who had
00:45:33
previously provided Mozelle with a quote for work she wanted done to her front porch
00:45:39
he had written out an estimate and given her a carbon copy Mozelle searched for hours and
00:45:46
eventually founded the estimate buried among paperwork she and Joanne compared it to the sample
00:45:53
in the newspaper article it was an exact match Joanne mailed and faxed it to the local
00:46:02
police headquarters she then waited to hear on the news that Obi whose real name was Oba Chandler had
00:46:09
been arrested in relation to the Rogers triple homicide she heard nothing Joanne made several follow-up calls to
00:46:20
find out if the police could analyze the handwriting samples she had sent she was told that the case investigators
00:46:27
were making their way through a large amount of leads and that hers would be examined in time
00:46:34
June passed and by Late July Joanne was still awaiting contact from authorities frustrated by their lack of action
00:46:43
mozelle's adult daughter faxed to the handwriting samples through to police again
00:46:49
her accompanying message read here is another copy of Ober Chandler's handwriting many of us are convinced
00:46:58
that his handwriting is the one published in the papers we feel so strongly that they are one
00:47:04
and the same that due to your lack of response we were tempted to pursue this with a handwriting expert of Our Own
00:47:14
following this investigators were willing to take on the concerns of Joanne Steffy and her neighbors
00:47:21
within three days a handwriting expert confirmed that the directions on the Clearwater Beach brochure were indeed
00:47:28
penned by Ober Chandler it was such a close match it was regarded as unmistakable
00:47:37
while this only proved that Chandler had given the Rogers women directions it established that he had Direct contact
00:47:44
with them in the lead-up to their murders and he knew where they were staying yet by the time police closed in on over
00:47:54
Chandler they were too late he was long gone Ober Chandler was born in Ohio the only
00:48:06
son in a family of five children his father was a strict disciplinarian who took his own life
00:48:15
the death marked a turning point in ten-year-old Ober Chandler the once quiet and intelligent boy
00:48:21
became disruptive this carried on into his adult years during which chantilla served short
00:48:28
stints in jail for around robbery drug dealing and counterfeiting while committing a home invasion
00:48:35
Chandler forced the female resident to undress before restraining her to a bed on another occasion he bound a woman's
00:48:44
hands and feet and covered her mouth in duct tape by May 1988 Chandler was in the midst of
00:48:53
his third marriage he had eight children with multiple women chantilla purchased a small Bungalow
00:49:01
style home in Tampa his blue and white power boat was docked at the pier connected to his property
00:49:08
and he parked his dark-colored Jeep Cherokee in the driveway Oba Chandler worked hard to build a good
00:49:15
rapport with his neighbors then in June 1990 he surprised them all by suddenly moving away without telling
00:49:24
anyone it was a year into the Rogers homicide investigation and shortly after a composite sketch of the suspect was
00:49:33
widely publicized the investigation into over Chandler was given the code name the Tin Man in
00:49:42
reference to Chandler's work as an aluminum salesman detectives flew to Ontario in Canada
00:49:49
where they spoke with Lucy the woman who was raped aboard a boat by Dave Posner in May 1989.
00:49:57
upon viewing a photo lineup Lucy pointed out Ober Chandler as being Dave Posner the friend who had been traveling with
00:50:07
Lucy at the time made the same identification chantilla's resemblance to the composite
00:50:14
sketch of Lucy's rapist was uncanny Ober Chandler was tracked almost 300 miles from Tampa he had resettled on the
00:50:25
other side of the state in the seaside city of Daytona Beach on Thursday September 24 1992 Chandler
00:50:35
was visiting pawn shops trying to offload 750 000 worth of jewelry he had stolen
00:50:42
when he pulled into a gas station officers swooped and he was placed under arrest for sexual battery
00:50:51
word of his arrest spread along with rumors that he was involved in the murders of Joe Michelle and Christy
00:50:57
Rogers the news left his current Neighbors in Daytona Beach stunned he seemed like a normal guy one neighbor
00:51:07
told the Tampa Times newspaper with Ober Chandler Behind Bars detectives worked to see if they could
00:51:16
implicate him in the Rogers triple homicide they were able to recover Chancellor's
00:51:22
old blue and white power boat which he had sold three months after the murders so much time had passed nothing of
00:51:31
significance was uncovered yet one of Chandler's sisters recalled him collecting newspaper clippings about
00:51:38
the Roger's case when she confronted him about it he allegedly confessed to the killings
00:51:45
before saying I'm just bullshitting on another occasion chantiller allegedly told one of his daughters that he
00:51:54
couldn't go back to Florida because quote the police are looking for me because I killed some women
00:52:02
Chandler had also allegedly confessed to his son-in-law saying he threw at least
00:52:08
one woman overboard the evidence against Oba Chandler was circumstantial though what was enough
00:52:16
for a grand jury to indict him to stand a trial for the murders of Joe Michelle and Christy Rogers in addition to his
00:52:24
crimes against Lucy Chandler entered her not guilty plea [Music] the trial commenced in September 1994.
00:52:38
Ober Chandler appeared in court wearing a casual shirt and khaki pants and flashing a broad smile
00:52:46
he was impassive throughout proceedings but would become jovial with his defense
00:52:51
team during breaks the prosecution relied on similar fact evidence in the rape case of Canadian
00:52:59
tourist Lucy to show that both crimes were linked the assistant State Attorney argued that
00:53:06
the boat was the perfect place for Chandler to commit his crimes saying it could be committed in darkness and
00:53:14
without the possibility of Escape Chandler's defense team put forth that ax between their client and Lucy were
00:53:23
consensual while they admitted that things got out of hand in that instance they stressed
00:53:29
that this didn't mean their client was a triple murderer he didn't do it it's that simple they
00:53:36
maintained they painted Chandler as a helpful man who had only offered the Rogers women
00:53:42
directions that simple act of kindness had now spiraled into wild and baseless accusations
00:53:52
three men who spent time remanded with obachandler were called to testify one said that Chandler had told him the
00:54:01
only reason he hadn't killed the Canadian tourist was because her friend back on Shore would recognize him
00:54:08
another testified that Chandler had told him that his biggest mistake was leaving
00:54:13
the note in the car Chandler had allegedly told another inmate that the last words he spoke to
00:54:21
the Rogers women before throwing them overboard was to quote swim for it when it was looking likely that the jury
00:54:31
would not find in obachandler's favor the defense threw a curveball they argued that the sexual battery
00:54:39
charge should be dropped as Lucy couldn't pinpoint exactly where the alleged rape had taken place
00:54:46
if it occurred more than nine nautical miles off the coast it was outside of U.S jurisdiction
00:54:54
this meant the prosecution would also lose their similar fact evidence tying Lucy's case to the Rogers
00:55:03
in response the prosecution reiterated key details in Lucy's statement specifically she saw people on the shore
00:55:11
and heard a bell ringing from the mainland this meant Chandler's boat must have been only around a mile offshore
00:55:22
the defense then sought to implicate John Rogers in the murders given his previous sex offenses against his niece
00:55:29
Michelle Rogers the defense floated the long since disregarded Hitman Theory to explain how
00:55:36
John could pull off their crimes this prompted the judge to respond you are not getting into John Rogers
00:55:44
John Rogers is a red herring that is a moot issue the executive assistant State Attorney
00:55:53
labeled The Hitman Theory as idiotic Oba Chandler took the stand in his own defense but when asked about his
00:56:03
involvement in the rape of Lucy he pleaded the fifth the right to avoid answering questions in court when the
00:56:09
answers May self-incriminate [Music] he then snapped that it had nothing to do with Roger's case
00:56:19
records showed that Chandler had made three phone calls from his boat between 1 and 2 am the night of the murders
00:56:27
he made another two shortly before 10 am Chandler testified that he had been out
00:56:34
fishing and wound up stranded overnight because his boat's fuel tank sprung a leak and emptied
00:56:40
he flagged down a coast guard vessel the following morning but they were unable to assist as they were on route to an
00:56:47
urgent job another boat eventually towed Chandler to shore a member of the Tampa Bay coast guard
00:56:56
told the court that none of their vessels were in the bay at the time Chandler asserted
00:57:02
logbooks confirmed that they hadn't been called to any jobs that morning furthermore a Marine Patrol expert
00:57:10
established that Chandler's boat couldn't have leaked all of its fuel an anti-siphon valve prevented this from
00:57:18
happening when the prosecution asked if he had killed the Rogers family Chandler
00:57:24
responded I have never killed no one in my whole life it's ludicrous it's ridiculous
00:57:34
the jury only needed five minutes to reach their unanimous verdict for the first degree murders of Joe
00:57:41
Michelle and Christy Rogers Ober Chandler was found guilty given this result the Lesser sexual
00:57:50
battery charge against him was dropped during sentencing the presiding judge said
00:57:58
one victim was first two watched imagine the fear one victim was second one watched
00:58:09
imagine the horror finally the last victim who had seen the other two disappear over the side was
00:58:17
lifted up and thrown overboard imagine the terror over Chandler you have not only
00:58:26
forfeited your right to live among us but under the laws of the State of Florida you have forfeited your right to
00:58:33
live at all may God have mercy on your soul Ober Chandler was sentenced to death
00:58:44
a Jura later told the Tampa Bay Times he had a smirk I just wanted to walk over there and slap it off his face
00:58:55
during his 17 years on death row Oba Chandler never expressed remorse for his crimes
00:59:03
no one visited him in prison and attempts to appeal his verdict failed he was put to death by lethal injection
00:59:11
in November 2011. he was 64 years old in late 1990 20 year old evelise Berrios beggaris was working at a sports store
00:59:27
in the City of Coral Springs Florida on the evening of Monday November 26 avalis finished a shift and left the
00:59:37
mall where her store was located with several of her co-workers it was just after 10 pm when the group
00:59:44
farewelled each other in the parking lot Eva lace then headed off to her car alone
00:59:53
whenever lease failed to return home her husband headed to the shopping mall he spotted evelace's car in the nearly
01:00:01
empty lot she was nowhere to be found the two tires on the passenger side of ivelisse's car were found to have been
01:00:11
slashed three hours later Eva Lisa's body was found lying naked under the letterbox of
01:00:20
a residential house approximately two and a half miles from the mall she had been strangled to death
01:00:28
her wrists and ankles featured a ligature marks and there was brown packing tape stuck in her hair
01:00:36
an extensive investigation failed to uncover ivelisse's killer and her case went cold
01:00:44
Ava lace's body had been swabbed for traces of foreign DNA but it took 23 years before forensic testing had
01:00:52
reached the point where anything significant could be uncovered from the samples
01:00:58
in 2013 Cold Case detectives had the swabs re-examined using Advanced Techniques
01:01:06
DNA was lifted from traces of semen they matched an existing profile on the state's criminal database
01:01:15
[Music] Berrios beggarisa's killer was over Chandler at the time of Eva Lisa's murder
01:01:25
chantilla lived less than two miles from the mall where she worked Chandler abruptly moved away days after
01:01:33
the slang he was in such a haste he left all his furniture behind one of the detectives fronting evalisa's
01:01:43
Cold Case told CBS News it was a case that people were very afraid of and now finding out years
01:01:51
later who the suspect was they had every right to be afraid by the time Ober Chandler was identified
01:02:00
as ivelisse's killer he had been dead for three years if not the channel is execution
01:02:08
authorities have said that he would have been charged with Ava Lisa's murder evelise Berrios beggar race was murdered
01:02:17
one and a half years after Joe Michelle and Christy Rogers he had indeed struck again
01:02:25
[Music] Hal Rogers struggled in the Years following his family's murders as detailed in the Pulitzer
01:02:35
prize-winning article Angels and Demons by Thomas French Hal couldn't bring himself to clear his home of Joe
01:02:42
Michelle and Christie's belongings he kept their rooms the same as when they had left for Florida
01:02:51
for a time he lived in denial often speaking about his wife and daughters in present tense while believing they would
01:02:58
come home at any time at one point hell drove to the cemetery with a shovel intending to dig up their
01:03:06
graves just so he could confirm they were really in there he reached to the cemetery only to turn
01:03:14
around and head straight back home a year after the murders Hal rode his motorbike to a long flat stretch of
01:03:23
highway with no traffic he accelerated until the speedometer reached 100 miles an hour
01:03:31
he then closed his eyes and took his hands off the handlebars when Hal reopened his eyes he was lying
01:03:40
on the side of the road with his motorbike on the ground nearby Hal was uninjured
01:03:49
he took this as a sign that Joe Michelle and Christy were watching over him and weren't ready for him to join them
01:03:57
[Music] Hal dusted himself off got back on his bike and rode home [Music] [Music]
01:04:25
[Music] in 2004 Olivia Newton-John and her handsome cameraman boyfriend seemed to
01:04:40
be madly in love with each other but less than a year later this seemingly besotted couple had split and then quite
01:04:48
suddenly Patrick McDermott vanished his disappearance was so sudden so total and
01:04:56
so mysterious that some people think he faked his own death so here's a guy that's poor okay that's hurting owes
01:05:05
back child support and I believe that the pressures of that and the pressures of oh my God I'm gonna have to go to
01:05:14
jail and my son's gonna have to see me in jail and I think it was just too much for him months after he vanished alleged
01:05:21
sightings began apparently McDermott was in Mexico and I was sitting there at the bar
01:05:28
having adult beverages and this guy was walking around going table to table with
01:05:33
like an artist rendering of an image of Patrick and he came to our table and he goes do you recognize this person I go
01:05:41
you know what I think he's staying at my surf camp in season one of suicide we brought you nine different stories of
01:05:48
death Road Through the Ages now in season two we're investigating The Disappearance of one man Patrick
01:05:55
McDermott so I'm interested to give you a question too because you said that you
01:06:01
were doing an article there or journalism piece on people who had faked their death like do you really think
01:06:08
that Patrick McDermott faked his death join me poppy Damon and me Alice finds as we unravel the mystery week by week
01:06:16
in suicide only on Spotify you're like where is he and that's horrible for somebody that that you know you cared
01:06:26
about where is he that suicide beginning with a p only on Spotify 48 year old cameraman Patrick McDermott
01:06:36
was the on and off boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John in 2005 he boarded an overnight fishing charter off the coast
01:06:43
of Los Angeles when the boat disembarked the following day Patrick was nowhere to
01:06:49
be seen in season 2 of suicide poppy Damon and Alice fines dig deeper into Patrick McDermott's case than anyone has
01:06:57
before to answer the question did Patrick die at sea or did he disappear deliberately to begin a new life
01:07:06
Suicide Season 2 is out now available for free only on Spotify