TAMPA, Fla. – Oba Chandler, a resident of Florida, was executed after being convicted of the murder of Joan Rogers and her two teenage daughters. The killings occurred in June 1989 and went unsolved for three years before Chandler’s arrest, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Chandler was identified as the suspect due to a handwriting clue left at the crime scene. Joan Rogers, 36, and her daughters, Michelle, 17, and Christie, 14, were found in Tampa Bay with yellow polypropylene rope tying them to concrete blocks by their necks. Autopsies indicated that they had died from asphyxiation, but it was unclear whether they had been drowned or strangled with the ropes around their necks.
The extensive search for Chandler is detailed on the Fox True Crime podcast, which reveals how authorities were able to track him down through a handwritten note found in a car that led to the boat ramp parking lot where their bodies were discovered. Investigators also released information about a watercraft mentioned in the note, but it did not yield any leads.
Further evidence linking Chandler to the crime came in the form of a contract written by Chandler, which was matched to the handwriting found in the car. His face also closely resembled a composite sketch created based on a Canadian tourist’s report of being raped by a man with a similar description as Chandler.
Despite the wealth of evidence against him, Chandler maintained his innocence until his death, stating that there was no proof of his involvement in the crime. He was executed in November 2011 at the age of 65.
In a disturbing turn of events, Chandler was connected to another unsolved murder in 2014 after DNA from the post-mortem rape kit of 20-year-old Ivelisse Berrios Beguerisse matched his. Beguerisse’s body was found strangled in Coral Springs, Fla., on Nov. 27, 1990, leading to a revelation that shocked the public.
The families of Chandler’s victims were grateful for the closure but also had to endure the painful process of revisiting the tragedies that had haunted them for so long.
Chandler’s case serves as a reminder of the relentless pursuit of justice and the exceedingly difficult task of solving cold cases, which often bring closure to the families of the victims but also unearth painful memories.