Have you heard the names of Oba Chandler? He is related to the horrific Rogers family murders in 1989. It’s gruesome how the first vacation of a mother with her two daughters turns into a nightmare, and all of them end up losing their lives.
Joan and her daughters Michelle and Christe were off to Florida for the first time, and they were ecstatic about it. So, they planned on spending one night more in Tampa Bay.
Then, how did the things turn upside down, and all of them were just dead bodies floating in the water? Let’s find out what happened at Tampa Bay! A true story of murder, rape, and more!
Rogers Family Murders: Mother And Daughters Getting Killed On Their First Vacation
Joan Rogers was happy to finally have a family holiday with her teenage daughters, Christe and Michelle. The 14-year-old Christe and 17-year-old Michelle accompanied their mother on a vacation to Florida.
The family was going to explore the world outside their hometown, Ohio, for the first time. Hal Rogers, the father of these two girls and Joan’s husband could not join them as he had to take care of the family’s dairy farm in Willshire, Ohio.
Joan and her daughter started the journey on 26th May, and they were about to enjoy a 1000-mile drive to Florida. Some of the prominent spots they were going to visit were Disney’s MGM Studios, the Jacksonville Zoo, and SeaWorld.
They Were Enjoying The Vacation To The Fullest
The trio had a gala ride in their “blue Oldsmobile Calais” through Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They drove 500 miles to reach Georgia, where they took a halt and stayed at a motel at night.
They completed the final lap of their journey while driving through Georgia, and on the way, they visited the Jacksonville Zoo.
The mother and her daughters had a gala time over the next four days. They enjoyed driving through new places and sightseeing. They used to rest at motels at night.
Joan wrote a letter to her husband on 29th May 1989 stating how the vacation was going great. Her postcard described how the daughters were dragging their mother to all the places on their itinerary list. It was far from a serene holiday by the sea.
1st June 1989: Mark The Date Of The Rogers Family Murders
The mother and her children went on this vacation in May, and on 1st June, they planned to extend their vacation a bit. They decided to spend one extra night at Tampa Bay.
Further, they visited a gas station, where they had their first interaction with Oba Chandler, the man who was going to kill them within the next few hours. He was white, with sandy hair and a mustache. The man seemed friendly, and he said that he, too, was originally from Ohio. He also wrote the directions to the Days Inn motel on a Clearwater Beach brochure.
The handwriting on the brochure was going to be the biggest breakthrough in solving the case. As mysteries unravel, I will discuss them in detail.
A local man approached the mother and her daughters to go for a sunset boat cruise at night. Joan was not willing initially. However, she gave in to the persuasion of her daughters.
That’s it! All of them were next seen as corpses floating in water at Tampa Bay.
Life Of The Rogers In The Final Hours…
Investigations revealed that the Rogers family checked in at the Days Inn motel at Rocky Point at around 12:30 pm. Then, they spent some time outdoors and again went back to their motel before starting the cruise trip.
Joan, Christe, and Michelle probably spent their time by the seaside after days of sightseeing and doing many activities. The sunburnt photograph of Michelle in white shorts and a blue bikini top increases the chances of the family being at the beach. This photograph was taken when they got back to their motel before setting off for the cruise trip.
Before getting back to the motel, they had their dinner at the restaurant adjacent to the motel. There, they met a Texas businessman.
Further, they reached the boat launch in their car and boarded the cruise around 8:30 to 9 p.m. The Sun was getting ready to set for the day, drawing curtains on their lives.
Dead Bodies Were Found Three Days After They Were Killed
On the morning of 4th June 1989, nobody expected the tranquil and turquoise water at Tampa Bay would have such a big surprise.
The passengers of a sailboat passing under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge discovered one of the bodies first. They informed the Coast Guard and a rescue boat was present without any delay.
The dead body was so heavy that it could not be pulled back on the rescue boat. The corpse’s neck had a yellow polypropylene rope fastening, which was further tied to 30lb concrete blocks. A Coast Guard member cut off the yellow rope and then pulled the body back into the rescue boat.
The Coast Guard got two more calls about the discovery of two other bodies in the water. All the corpses were in similar conditions and had concrete blockers tied to their neck with a rope for weighing them down.
- The mouths of the victims were sealed with duct tape.
- The faces of the victims were floating down.
- A yellow rope was used to tie their hands back.
- Their ankles were bound together.
- The victims were young white women.
- All the dead bodies were naked from the waist.
What Did The Autopsy Report Of Rogers Family Murders Find Out?
Asphyxiation was declared as the cause of death for all the bodies found. However, the report could not clarify when the lack of oxygen was triggered by drowning or strangulation. However, their lungs were filled with water. It was an indication of them being still alive when being thrown in the water.
Speculations about sexual assaults were high as the bodies were naked from the waist. However, the bodies were in the water for around fifty to sixty hours. So, no evidence of rape was found.
Further, as the bodies were thrown in the water, all forensic evidence, like fingerprints and fibers, were also washed off.
It took another four days to get the bodies identified. A housekeeper at the Days Inn recognized them from a news article and informed police that Joan and her daughter never returned to the inn after 1st June.
With time, detectives learned their real identities and that they were holidaying in Tampa Bay. The detectives also found out that Hal Rogers could not join his wife and daughters as he had to look after their dairy farm in Ohio.
Did You Know?
The Rogers family’s vacation to Florida was meant to be a pleasant escape after they encountered evils at their home.
Hal’s brother, John Rogers, has been staying on a family property in a trailer. His ex-girlfriend, who was living in the same trailer before moving out to a new space, accused him of raping and threatening her. She also told the police how John recorded a video of the whole incident. The video was found by the police.
Further, as police started the investigation, they found the pictures of a nude young girl who was blindfolded. There were even audiotapes where the young girl was screaming and requesting the attacker to let her go. THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS MICHELLE ROGERS!
Hal could not believe that his own brother had been molesting his daughter for the last three years.
So, when the mother and her daughters set off on vacation, it was like ending a painful phase and starting something new. Who knew that they were only making a trip to meet their end?
The Early Days Of Investigation: Was Hal Rogers Behind The Rogers Family Murders?
The investigation of the Rogers family murders began. As all crime stories have it, the first suspect was Hal Rogers, as he did not join his wife and daughters for the vacation. Police also raised their fingers at Hal Rogers as Joan and her daughters were about to return to Willshire on 3rd June, but they did not.
Hal did not make any inquiries for the next three days despite his wife and daughters not coming back home. Further, the investigating officers found Hal Rogers to be cold in his responses. However, it was Hal’s natural personality with a lot of inherent restraint that kept him composed during the investigation.
Fortunately, Hal was soon out of the radar, as he had his alibi ready. Hal had the habit of visiting restaurants for dinner and breakfast. So many people witnessed him being present in Ohio all the time for the last week. Also, considering the distance between Ohio and Tampa Bay, it was not possible for him to travel to Tampa Bay on the night Joan and her daughters were killed and come back to Ohio in the morning.
And The Investigation For Rogers Family Murders Continued…
Once Hal Rogers got a clean cheat, the police continued their investigation by looking for evidence in Rogers’s 86 Oldsmobile Calais car. It was parked at a public boat launch along the Courtney Campbell Parkway.
The Courtney Campbell Parkway was further almost a mile away from Days Inn. After a thorough investigation, the police found a brochure and a Days Inn stationary in the car.
Both had directions to the motel written on them. A forensic document examiner assessed the documents and compared them with Joan, Christe, and Michelle’s handwriting samples. The handwriting on Days Inn’s stationary matched Joan’s handwriting.
However, the handwriting on the Clearwater Beach brochure did not match any of the family members. The direction written on the Clearwater Beach brochure was:
“Courtney Cambell Causeway
RT 60 Days Inn.”
A theory was brewing, and investigators smelled a connection between the person who had written the directions on the Clearwater Beach brochure and the murder of Joan and her daughters.
Further, “blue w/wht” written by Joan on Days Inn stationary seemed to be the description of the boat from which Joan and her daughters were thrown off.
Also, the University of South Florida confirmed that the person who took Joan and her daughters on a cruise was the murderer. This person and the one who wrote the directions to the motel could be the same person.
A Major Breakthrough Paced Up The Investigation
Months passed, and one day, Jim Kappel, the chief detective of the Rogers family murders, came across something interesting in the bulletin published by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
He learned about a similar case at Madeira Beach, Florida, in which Judy Blair, a Canadian tourist, was the victim. She went to Tampa Bay to watch the sunset at a man’s invitation. The man raped him on 15th May 1989, but he did not kill Judy.
Detective Kappel contacted the Madeira Beach police to get a sketch of the attacker from Judy Blair’s descriptions. According to Judy Blair’s description, the man was in his mid-30s and around 5 feet 10 inches tall. His weight could be around 180 pounds, and he introduced himself as Dave Posner (or Posno), the owner of an aluminum company. He further mentioned Bradenton as his hometown.
The detectives and police found out that in both cases, the attacker was the same. However, the investigation got goofed up as there were many versions of the sketches. They made the detectives confused.
How Handwriting Exposed The Connection Of Oba Chandler With Rogers Family Murders?
The handwriting on the brochure of Clearwater Beach further led to the killer of Joan and her daughters. When the handwriting examiner assessed it, some interesting facts were found.
- The letter “T” was always capitalized, even in the middle of the words.
- The word “Y” was written in different styles in each case.
A decision was made to bring the handwriting before the public eye. Five billboards were printed and circulated. Those billboards said,
“WHO WROTE THESE DIRECTIONS? You may know who killed the Rogers family. $25,000 REWARD.”
The idea clicked! Jo Ann Steffey, a local Tampa Bay woman, called the police, and she said that she found the handwriting on the billboard similar to the handwriting of an aluminum contractor she had hired. The contractor’s name was Oba Chandler, and the lady had a receipt in his handwriting.
Experts compared the handwriting on the receipt of Jo Ann Steffey with the handwriting on the Clearwater Beach brochure. They were convinced that both were the same person.
Tracking Down Oba Chandler And Building The Case Against Him
Tracking down Oba Chandler and building a foolproof case against him were eventful incidents. Let’s check out the highlights.
- Police found that Oba Chandler used to stay at a place just a mile away from the place where Rogers’ car was parked.
- Chandler refused his connection with the Rogers family murders. However, the police had Chandler’s phone records. He called his wife after raping Judy Blair and Rogers family murders. He made an excuse for engine failure and being late to return home.
- His call timings matched with the time of the rape and murders.
- Oba Chandler was convicted for the rape and murder charges on 24th September 1992.
- Detectives again approached Judy Blair, and she flew from Canada. She recognized Oba Chandler’s photo among the headshots of many men.
- Judy Blair even identified Oba Chandler in person among the six prisoners present.
- Detectives went one step further, and they assessed Chandler’s boat. He told police that he had sold the boat and then further fortified his connection with the murders.
- The detectives also matched Chandler’s fingerprints on the Clearwater Beach brochure. The brochure had Joan Rogers’s fingerprint and another fingerprint that did not match any of the family members. Forensic reports proved that it was Oba Chandler’s fingerprint.
The End Of Oba Chandler, The Man Behind The Rogers Family Murders
It was the summer of 1994 when Oba Chandler’s trial began. He was defiant. As the women in the car were examining a local map, he agreed to help the Rogers family with directions to the motel. He said that he did not see the Rogers women again until the news of their murders came on billboards and in the news.
Chandler maintained this defiant attitude throughout. In an interview with Kelly Ring of Fox 13, Chandler said,
“Kelly, there’s no evidence that says I committed this crime. None. Where’s it at? “They stopped and asked me for directions and that’s it. That was it. I never saw them again. I just had the basic misfortune of meeting these people.”
He even said that he got late on both days because of engine problems in his boat. He tried reaching out to the Coast Guard and Marine Patrol but received no help from them. Also, he mentioned that he was alone in the boat on the night of the Rogers family murders.
However, a boat mechanic testified that the boat had no engine problems. Chandler’s version of engine troubles and fixing them with duct tape was completely false. Also, there were no records of him calling the Marine Patrol or Coast Guard.
Judy Blair, a Canadian tourist and a victim raped by Oba Chandler, also testified against him, establishing the similarity with the incident that happened to Rogers.
Kristal Sue Mays, one of the children of Chandler, also testified that he admitted before her and her husband about how he had raped one woman and killed three others on the boat.
Oba Chandler Gets The Sentence
On 24th September 1994, Oba Chandler was adjudged guilty by the jury. Each of the jury members found him to be associated with the murder of Joan, Christe, and Michelle Rogers. Finally, on 4th November 1994, Chandler received a death sentence.
Chandler tried to prove himself innocent and made multiple appeals in front of the court. However, all his efforts were in vain. And after “22 years on Florida’s Death Row,” Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Chandler. It was the second execution in Florida after Governor Scott had assumed the office in January 2011.
On signing the death warrant, Scott mentioned that he did not choose Chandler for any specific reason. In fact, his deeds were the reasons for his getting a death warrant. He further mentioned,
“(He) killed three women, so I looked through different cases, and it made sense to do that one,” Scott said. “There’s never one thing. It was the right case.”
And The End Is Here…
Governor Rick Scott signed the death warrant of Chandler, and the same was scheduled to happen on 15th November 2011. His execution was an eventful occurrence, with Thomas French, a Pulitzer-winning journalist, accompanying Hal Rogers to the prison in Starke where the execution took place.
Hal Rogers and Thomas French were present at the witness box as Chandler was administered with a lethal injection, and he was declared dead at around 4:25 pm.
On the occasion of Chandler’s execution, the Times covered every news, and the publication even revisited the entire case by interviewing people about how the crime of Oba Chandler still haunted them.
Final Words
The Rogers family murders were naturally the biggest blow to Hal Rogers, the only surviving member of the family. However, with time, he found calm and composure. He had also developed a kind of defense mechanism in the form of black humor. Years before, in 1998, he again found love in Jolene, a widow from Tampa Bay.
In 2011, he told the Tampa Bay Times about rebuilding his life. The story said, “He is open and philosophical and lost and withdrawn all at the same time.”
Having said that, it’s extremely difficult for a person to draw a closure or move on when his family has fallen prey to such a ghastly crime. We can empathize and wish him a peaceful life till his last breath.
Joan, Michelle, and Christe are buried in Zion Lutheran Cemetery. May they rest in peace on the other side of the rainbow.
