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By Khaleda Rahman and Shane Croucher
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Glen Rogers, dubbed the "Casanova Killer", saved his last words for President Donald Trump right before he was executed by lethal injection in Florida.
"President Trump, keep making America great. I'm ready to go," Rogers said.
The Context
Rogers, 62, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 34-year-old Tina Marie Cribbs. He stabbed the mother-of-two to death in a motel room after they met in a bar.
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He also had drawn a separate death sentence in California for the 1995 strangulation killing of Sandra Gallagher, a mother-of-three whom he had met at a bar in Van Nuys in that state. That killing came weeks before the Cribbs murder. Rogers was stopped after a highway chase in Kentucky while driving Cribbs' car soon after her death.
What To Know
In his final words, Rogers thanked his wife, who had visited him earlier in the day at the prison.
He also told the families of his victims: "I know there's a lot of questions that you need answers to. I promise you in the near future, the questions will be answered and I hope in some way will bring you closure."
The execution took 16 minutes, according to the Associated Press. After it began, he hardly moved, lying still with his mouth slightly open.
A staff member at one point grasped his by the shoulders, shook him and yelled "Rogers, Rogers" to see if he was conscious.
His execution went ahead after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeals on Wednesday without comment.
Rogers was named as a suspect but never convicted in several other slayings around the country, and once told police he had killed about 70 people—a statement he later recanted.
He was labeled the "Casanova Killer" and the "Cross Country Killer" in media reports.
Authorities linked him to five victims: Cribbs, Gallagher, Mark Peters of Ohio, Linda Price of Mississippi and Andy Lou Jiles Sutton of Louisiana. Four of them were single mothers in their 30s with reddish hair.
What People Are Saying
Rogers' brother, Claude Rogers, told the Tampa Bay Times about his last visit to his brother before his execution: "I said my goodbyes to him. He's my brother and I love him. I asked God to guide him on this next journey."
Sutton's son, Randy Roberson, said in a statement released through the Florida Department of Corrections: "Finally, after (Rogers) being in prison for the past 28 years, my family, along with the other victims' families will be able to have some type of closure to the nightmare created by this monster. My mother along with the other victims will finally receive the justice that they deserve."
What's Next
Rogers was the fifth inmate put to death in Florida this year. Anthony Wainwright is the next inmate scheduled for execution on June 10.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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