Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer (36 page)

On Wednesday, June 7, 1989, after more than
seventeen hours of grueling deliberation, the jury voted
unanimously that Dayton had murdered his victims deliberately and
without reasonable, if any, provocation, and that he would be a
continuing threat to society whether behind prison walls or on the
outside. Judge Bagley sentenced Dayton Leroy Rogers to death by
lethal injection.

"It was righteous justice," said Turner,
solemn-faced but obviously pleased after hearing the verdict and
sentence. "Righteous in the sense that an all-female jury convicted
him and decided his fate."

Although John Turner, his colleagues, and
Andy Eglitis couldn't have been happier with the outcome, they knew
that the bizarre case of Dayton Leroy Rogers was not over. It would
never be over in their lifetimes, even if Dayton's appointment with
the executioner's needle was, in fact, ever carried out. Dayton had
left behind too many deaths, too many scars, too many shattered
lives, not only among his own family but, especially, among the
families of his countless victims, whether dead or alive, for his
rampage to be quickly forgotten.

Epilogue

Aside from testifying at his first trial,
Dayton Leroy Rogers has not spoken to authorities since invoking
his rights against self-incrimination shortly after his arrest for
the murder of Jenny Smith, and again when Detectives Machado and
Strovink tried to question him about the Molalla forest murders. He
has shown no remorse for his crimes. His convictions have been
upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court, but his sentence of death, as
have virtually all of Oregon's death sentences, has been sent back
to Clackamas County Circuit Court for retrial of the
sentencing
phase only
, due to the fact that jurors did not take into
account possible mitigating circumstances in his background when
deciding his fate. If he is resentenced to death, he will die by
lethal injection. Otherwise, he will be sentenced to life in prison
with
no possibility of parole
, an option now available due
to the enactment of recent legislation. For now, Dayton sits in a
single cell on Death Row at Oregon State Penitentiary. He is
allowed twenty minutes out of every twenty-four hours to shower,
shave, and exercise.

Sherry Rogers, who did not testify at either
of the trials, divorced Dayton shortly after his indictment for the
Molalla forest murders. She lives a quiet life somewhere in Oregon
with her and Dayton's young son.

Detective Mike Machado was promoted to
sergeant and moved out of the detectives division. He is now doing
administrative work.

Detectives John Turner and Lynda Estes, who
are now partners, continue working homicide investigations, as does
Detective Jim Strovink. Turner has been named as a National Police
Officer of the Month by
True Detective
magazine in 1992
because of the outstanding job he did investigating the Jenny Smith
and Molalla forest murders, among many others, over the past
several years.

Many of Dayton Leroy Rogers's surviving
victims have started new lives, working to overcome drug habits and
become productive citizens. A few have died as a direct result of
their lifestyles, and others are still working the streets.

Ortis and Jasperelle Rogers, Dayton's father
and mother, live quietly and alone, far removed from big city
wickedness in a remote area of Oregon and are likely still awaiting
Armageddon.

Molalla Victim #6 is still unidentified, and
there are no new leads to her identity.

One burning question remains in the case of
Dayton Leroy Rogers: How many other bodies, victims of Dayton's
bloodlust, are still lying in Oregon's forests awaiting discovery?
Unfortunately, unless Dayton decides to talk, that question may
never be answered.

###

About the Author

Gary C. King, a freelance author and
lecturer, has published more than 500 articles in true crime
magazines in the United States, Canada, and England. King took over
Ann Rule’s job as Pacific Northwest stringer for True Detective
magazine and its sister publications, writing hundreds of articles
under various names until those magazines ceased publication in the
mid-1990s. More recently he has found alternate venues for his
stories, including truTV’s Crime Library and Investigation
Discovery. He is also the author of several true crime books
including: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Driven to
Kill, Web of Deceit, Blind Rage, Savage Vengeance (with Don
Lasseter), An Early Grave, The Texas 7, Murder in Hollywood, Angels
of Death, Stolen in the Night, Love, Lies, and Murder, An Almost
Perfect Murder, Butcher, The Murder of Meredith Kercher, and
Rage.

Driven to Kill, the story of serial child
killer Westley Allan Dodd's killing spree, was published in April
1993 by Pinnacle Books and was nominated for an Anthony Award in
the Best True Crime Book category at Bouchercon 25.

Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer,
details the bizarre case of Dayton Leroy Rogers, Oregon's worst
serial killer to date. Blood Lust was published in December 1992
under NAL/Dutton's Onyx imprint as an original paperback. A German
language edition of Blood Lust was published later, in 1995. Both
Blood Lust and Driven to Kill were chosen as featured selections of
Doubleday's True Crime Book Club.

King’s television appearances have included
Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Inside Edition, Court TV,
MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends, E!, British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC), Extra TV, and several other programs. He also
frequently provides radio interviews. Television interviews also
include an episode of Biography about serial killer Robert “Willie”
Pickton, the subject of Butcher, and an episode of Dominick Dunne’s
Power, Privilege, and Justice
called “Strange Bedfellows,”
about the murder of Nevada State Controller Kathy Augustine and the
subject of King’s An Almost Perfect Murder.

King is an active member of the Authors
Guild, Mystery Writers of America, American Society of Journalists
and Authors, The Crime Writers' Association (U.K.), National Press
Club, Society of Professional Journalists, International Thriller
Writers, and International Association of Crime Writers.

Connect with Me Online:

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Gary_C_King

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LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/garycking

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http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/GaryCKing