The mystery of Tampa Bay's dark waters | Forensic Files

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

Case 232: Jo, Michelle & Christe Rogers

For Jo Rogers and her two teenage daughters, Michelle and Christe, a trip to Florida seemed like a dream come true. In May 1989, the trio left their dairy farm in Willshire, Ohio and set out on their first ever interstate holiday.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-232-jo-michelle-christe-rogers

Brief Summary

The episode investigates Patrick McDermott's disappearance and the Rogers family's triple homicide in Florida, linking both cases to Oba Chandler.

Key points

The Disappearance of Patrick McDermott. In 2005, Patrick McDermott vanished after boarding a fishing charter. Did he die at sea or start anew?
The Tragic Fate of the Rogers Family. The Rogers family went missing during a trip to Florida, leading to a shocking discovery.
Michelle's Secret Revealed. Michelle shares her traumatic experience of abuse by her uncle John.
The Arrest of John Rogers. John Rogers is arrested for the sexual abuse of Michelle and later pleads no contest.
Lucy's Encounter with Dave Posner. Lucy meets Dave Posner, who later assaults her while on a boat.
Joanne's Suspicion. Joanne notices her neighbor Obi resembles the suspect in the Rogers case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Did Patrick die at sea or did he disappear deliberately?

Exploring the mystery of Patrick McDermott's disappearance.

0:27WatchNov 19, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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