David Keith Rogers

Case identification

David Keith Rogers was a Kern County Sheriff's deputy. He was a navy veteran and a father of two. He was born in 1947.

Timeline

• March 22, 1983 — Rogers was fired for taking nude photographs of a hooker in a local cemetery.
• June 1983 — Rogers returned to duty after the state Civil Service Commission reduced his punishment to a 15-day suspension.
• April 1984 — Rogers was accused of beating up an inmate.
• June 1986 — Rogers returned to active patrol.
• February 21, 1986 — The bullet-riddled body of Jeanine Benintende, a 21-year-old Los Angeles prostitute, was fished out of a canal near Lamont, in Kern County.
• February 8, 1987 — Tracy Clark, a pregnant 15-year-old hooker, was found in the same canal.
• February 13, 1987 — Rogers was arrested five days after Tracy Clark was found.
• Aug. 21, 2006 — The California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a death sentence in an opinion spanning 111 pages.

Background

Rogers moved to Bakersfield, California, at age 30 and found employment with the Kern County Sheriff's Department a year later. He spent five years on beats where prostitutes were numerous. He was assigned to the county jail after returning to duty, and later returned to active patrol in June 1986.

Detectives learned that Rogers had once taken his teenage son on a tour of hooker-infested streets to teach the boy that prostitutes were "scumbags." Large quantities of pornography were discovered in Rogers's home.

Prosecutors declared that the missing 1983 witness was "very much on the list" of potential victims.

The offence

Rogers murdered two prostitutes.

Jeanine Benintende:

• On February 21, 1986, the bullet-riddled body of Jeanine Benintende, a 21-year-old Los Angeles prostitute, was fished out of a canal near Lamont, in Kern County.
• The fatal bullets were identified as .38-caliber hollow-points, often used by police.

Tracy Clark:

• On February 8, 1987, Tracy Clark was found in the same canal.
• Clark was pregnant and was 15 years old.
• A year later, on February 8, 1987, the same weapon was identified when Clark was found.

Weapon and admissions:

• Rogers was arrested five days later, after a background investigation revealed his "unusual interest" in prostitutes.
• Rogers admitted owning the murder weapon that had been reported stolen from a local tavern in 1982.

Investigation

Detectives learned about the tour with Rogers's teenage son and found large quantities of pornography in Rogers's home.

Prosecutors treated the missing 1983 witness as potential victim material, describing her as "very much on the list" of potential victims.

Employment and internal discipline

Rogers was fired on March 22, 1983 for taking nude photographs of a hooker in a local cemetery.

On appeal, the state Civil Service Commission reduced his punishment to a 15-day suspension, and Rogers returned to duty in June 1983. The prostitute in question failed to appear at this hearing and she has not been seen since.

While assigned to the county jail, Rogers was accused of beating up an inmate in April 1984, but the charges were ultimately dismissed.

Arrest and charges

Rogers was arrested five days after Tracy Clark was found, after background investigation revealed his "unusual interest" in prostitutes.

He was finally charged with two counts of homicide.

Trial

Rogers was convicted on one count each of second-degree murder (Benintende) and first-degree (Clark).

Sentencing

Rogers was sentenced to die on the latter charge (first-degree murder of Clark).

Appeals

The California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a death sentence in an opinion spanning 111 pages.

Outcome

Rogers was sentenced to death in 1987, and the California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the death sentence in 2006 (Aug. 21, 2006).