Oba Chandler

Case overview

Oba Chandler was convicted in 1994 of killing Joan Rogers and her two daughters, Christe and Michelle, and dumping their bound bodies in Tampa Bay. The three women were vacationing in Tampa after the Rogers family traveled from Willshire, Ohio to Florida. Authorities concluded that the women met Chandler on June 1, 1989, when they stopped and asked him for directions to their Tampa area motel. Chandler had ties to Ohio, and police said he sweet-talked the women into going on his boat. Investigators later described the victims’ bodies as bound and weighted with concrete blocks that were tied to ropes around their necks; detectives said the victims were thrown overboard.

The Florida Governor signed a death warrant for Chandler, and Chandler was executed by lethal injection.

Timeline

• June 1, 1989 — Authorities concluded that the women met Chandler when they stopped and asked for directions to their Tampa area motel; the Rogers women were vacationing in Florida and had checked into a Days Inn in Tampa on June 1.
• June 4, 1989 — The bodies of Joan Rogers and her two daughters were discovered floating in Tampa Bay.
• June 8, 1989 — A housekeeping report indicated the Rogers’ room at the Days Inn appeared not to have been inhabited for several days; the general manager contacted police.
• May 15, 1989 — The rape involving Canadian tourist Judy Blair occurred in Madeira Beach; later trial testimony described Chandler luring Blair onto his boat, raping her, and dropping her back on land.
• September 1992 — Chandler was not arrested or charged with the murders until September 1992.
• September 24, 1992 — Chandler was arrested for the murders.
• October 6, 1992 — Kristal Mays gave a sworn statement to the state attorney’s office.
• October 10, 2011 — The Florida Governor signed a death warrant for Chandler.
• November 4, 1994 — Chandler was sentenced to death on three counts of first-degree murder.
• November 9, 2011 — A Florida Supreme Court action was heard in a court in Tallahassee.
• November 15, 2011 — Chandler’s execution was carried out by lethal injection; he was pronounced dead shortly after 4:25 pm.

The offence

Chandler was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder relating to the deaths of Joan Rogers and her daughters, Michelle and Christe, who were 17 and 14. Authorities concluded the victims met Chandler on June 1, 1989, after stopping and asking for directions to their Tampa area motel. Detectives said Chandler bound the victims’ arms and legs, tied concrete blocks to ropes around their necks, and then threw them overboard.

The bodies were found tied and weighted in Tampa Bay on June 4, 1989. Each woman was found naked from the waist down. The record described the victims’ hands and ankles as bound with rope, and yellow nylon rope around their necks attached to concrete blocks. The record also described duct tape on the face or head of Christe and Michelle, and that there were no fractures of the hyoid bones; medical examiners determined that the cause of death for each victim was asphyxiation due to ropes around their necks or drowning.

Investigation and evidence

Authorities concluded that fingerprints were lifted from the brochure found in the victims’ car. A tourist brochure with Chandler’s handwriting was described as being found in Rogers’ car, and detectives said Chandler looked similar to a composite sketch of a suspect wanted in an earlier unsolved assault against a Canadian woman who was raped aboard a boat in Tampa Bay.

Investigators made the case public by publicizing handwriting samples from a tourist brochure. The handwriting was displayed on billboards with the words: "WHO KILLED THE ROGERS FAMILY?"

Marine researchers at Florida International University studied currents and patterns and confirmed that the women were tossed from a boat rather than from a bridge or dry land. Evidence described included the victims’ vehicle, a 1984 Oldsmobile Calais with Ohio license plates, being found at a boat dock on the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Arrest

Chandler was not arrested for the murders until September 1992, and was arrested on September 24, 1992.

Trial

Charges

Chandler was indicted on:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder (Joan Rogers)
• Count II: First-Degree Murder (Michelle Rogers)
• Count III: First-Degree Murder (Christe Rogers)

Plea

Chandler entered a plea of “not guilty” on November 16, 1992.

Verdict

On September 29, 1994, the jury found Chandler guilty on all counts.

Penalty phase and aggravators

After advisory sentencing, the jury by a 12 to 0 majority voted for the death penalty on all three convictions on September 30, 1994.

On November 4, 1994, Chandler was sentenced as followed:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder (Joan Rogers) — Death
• Count II: First-Degree Murder (Michelle Rogers) — Death
• Count III: First-Degree Murder (Christe Rogers) — Death

The trial court found statutory aggravators, including:

• the defendant had been convicted of prior violent and capital felonies, section 921.141(5)(b), Florida Statutes (1993);
• the murders were committed during the commission of a kidnapping, section 921.141(5)(d);
• the murders were committed to avoid arrest, section 921.141(5)(e);
• the murders were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, section 921.141(5)(h).

The record stated that no statutory mitigators were presented or proved. The record also stated that Chandler waived the presentation of testimonial mitigating evidence but presented documentary evidence, including college credits and records showing he obtained his high school equivalency diploma while in prison. The record stated the trial court found Chandler’s honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps and the length of his mandatory sentences as nonstatutory mitigation, but accorded each little weight.

The jury returned three 12-0 recommendations for death.

Chandler’s testimony and the Fifth Amendment

At trial, Chandler admitted meeting the Rogers women and giving them directions but claimed he never saw them again except in the newspaper and on billboards. The record described his denial that he took the Rogers family on his boat and his denial that he killed the women.

The record described repeated exchanges in which Chandler invoked the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent regarding the rape of Judy Blair. The record included the exchange where the prosecutor pressed him about invoking the Fifth:

• Chandler responded, "I invoke the Fifth Amendment."

The record included an additional defense dispute and the trial judge admonishing Chandler for refusing to answer.

Verbatim quotes

Chandler made the following statement in court when asked about killing the victims: "I have never killed no one in my whole life. I have never--it's ludicrous. It's ridiculous."

Appeals and postconviction

Chandler filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 12/05/94. In that appeal, he argued that admitting evidence regarding the sexual battery of Judy Blair unfairly prejudiced his case. Chandler also claimed that the trial court erred in repeatedly requiring him to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, and in admitting statements made by his daughter Kristal Mays. Regarding the penalty phase, Chandler contended that the court erred in accepting his waiver of the presentation of mitigating evidence, and in the application of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences of death on 10/16/97. Chandler filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied on 04/20/98.

Chandler then filed a 3.850 motion in state circuit court, which was denied on 06/27/01. The denial was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court on 07/05/01, which was affirmed on 04/17/03. Chandler’s Motion for Rehearing was denied on 6/24/03.

On 06/27/03, Chandler filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the U.S. District Court that was denied on 02/08/06.

Chandler filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the U.S. Court of Appeals on 02/13/06 that was pending.

Case citations preserved from the record

• Chandler v. State, 702 So.2d 186 (Fla. 1997) (Direct Appeal)
• Chandler v. State, 848 So.2d 1031 (Fla. 2003) (PCR)
• Chandler v. McDonough, 471 F.3d 1360 (11th Cir. 2006) (Habeas)

Sentencing and execution

Chandler’s death warrant was signed by Florida Governor Rick Scott on October 10, 2011. Chandler’s execution was scheduled for November 15, 2011, at 4:00 pm.

The record stated the execution process started at 4:08 p.m. and he was pronounced dead just after 4:25 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida.

Chandler did not make a last statement before execution in some parts of the record; other parts described that he declined to make a last statement and that reporters were given copies of a handwritten note drafted earlier.

The note included the statement: "You are killing a innocent man today"

The record also included: "Bull - - - -," said Pinellas-Pasco Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, who helped prosecute Chandler and witnessed his death.

Other details

Trial participants named in the record

• Trial judge: The Honorable Susan F. Schaeffer
• Trial attorney: Frederic S. Zinober, Esq. & Robert A. Santa Lucia, Esq.
• Attorney, Direct Appeal: Paul Helm – Assistant Public Defender
• Collateral Appeals: Gary Printy
• Prosecutor named: Douglas Crow
• Defendant’s lawyer connected to the execution: Baya Harrison
• Assistant State Attorney during execution-era statements: Bruce Bartlett
• Attorney named in later context: Baya Harrison III

Victims

• Joan Rogers, 36
• Michelle Rogers, 17
• Christe Rogers, 14

Funeral and burial information

The record stated that Jo, Michelle and Christe Rogers were buried in their hometown on June 13, 1989, after a funeral service at the Zion Lutheran Church, attended by about 300 people.

Additional incarceration details mentioned

Chandler was described as incarcerated at Florida State Prison and later described as having been on Florida’s death row at Union Correctional Institution in the record.

Last meal information preserved from the record

The record described Chandler’s final meal as:

• Two salami sandwiches on white bread with mustard
• He asked for a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on white bread but ate only half of it
• He ordered an iced tea, but drank coffee instead

Final words

The record stated: None.