The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly.  This information, however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied on for statistical or legal purposes.

CHANDLER, Oba (W/M)

DC #    056979

DOB:   10/11/46 

Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, Case #92-17438

Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Susan F. Schaeffer

Trial Attorney: Frederic S. Zinober, Esq. & Robert A.Santa Lucia, Esq.

Attorney, Direct Appeal: Paul Helm – Assistant PublicDefender

Attorney, Collateral Appeals:  Baya Harrison – CCRC

Date of Offense:          06/01/89 

Date of Sentence:        11/04/94         

Circumstances of Offense:

Oba Chandler was convicted and sentenced to death for themurders of Joan Rogers and her two daughters, Michelle and Christe, on06/01/89.

Joan Rogers and her daughters were vacationing in Tampa fromOhio and checked into their hotel on 06/01/89.  Housekeeping staff noticedthat their room remained uninhabited for over week, at which point, theycontacted the manager, who then contacted police.  Upon investigation, theRogers’ car was found abandoned beside a boat ramp off the Courtney CampbellCauseway.  Inside the car they found a brochure with directions on it,parts of which were written in Oba Chandler’s handwriting.  Chandler’sfingerprints were also lifted from the brochure.

The bodies of all three women were found tied and weightedin Tampa Bay on 06/04/89.  Each woman was naked from the waist down, armsand legs bound, and a cinder block was tied by a rope around their necks. Medical examiners determined the cause of death of all three women to beasphyxiation from the ropes around their necks, or from drowning.

Investigation revealed similarities between the Rogers’murders and the rape of a woman in a nearby area.  From information givenby Judy Blair, the victim of the rape, a composite drawing was made of thesuspect and printed in the local paper, along with the stories of the two crimes. After seeing the article, Chandler fled the area and stayed withrelatives.  He admitted to them that the police were searching for him inconnection with the rape/murder investigation.   

At trial, Judy Blair testified that when she first met Chandlerhe offered to take her on a sunset cruise on his boat.  Not fearing forher safety in the least, Blair accompanied Chandler on a ride through Tampa Bayand the Gulf of Mexico.  While at sea, Chandler raped Blair.  Blairtestified that she believed he would have killed her had it not been for thefact that a friend was waiting for her back at the dock.  The State usedthis incident to hypothesize how Chandler lured the Rogers family with theoffer of a cruise on his boat before he killed them.  Chandler was notarrested or charged with the murders until September 1992.

Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:

Trial Summary:

11/10/92         Defendant indicted on:

                                   Count I:           First-Degree Murder (Joan Rogers)

                                   Count II:           First-DegreeMurder (Michelle Rogers)

                                   Count III:         First-Degree Murder(Christe Rogers)

11/16/92         Defendant entered a plea of not guilty.

09/29/94         The jury found the defendant guilty on all counts.

09/30/94         Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the

death penalty onall three convictions.

11/04/94         The defendant was sentenced as followed:

                                   Count I:           First-Degree Murder (Joan Rogers) - Death

                                   Count II:           First-DegreeMurder (Michelle Rogers) - Death

                                   Count III:         First-Degree Murder(Christe Rogers) - Death

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC #84,812

702 So. 2d 186

12/05/94          Appealfiled.

10/16/97         FSC affirmed the convictions and sentences of death.

12/11/97         Rehearing denied.

01/14/98         Mandate issued.

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC #97-7993

523 U.S. 1083

02/20/98         Petition filed.

04/20/98         Petition denied.

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC #92-17438

06/22/98         Motion filed.

06/27/01         Motion denied.

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC #SC01-1468

848 So. 2d 1031

07/05/01         Appeal filed.

04/17/03         Denial affirmed.

06/24/03         Rehearing denied.

07/24/03         Mandate issued.

U.S. District Court, Middle District – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus

USDC #03-1347

06/27/03         Petition filed.

02/08/06         USDC denied petition

U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus Appeal

USCA# 06-11190

471 F. 3d 1360

02/13/06         Appeal filed.

12/18/06         USCA affirmed the denial of the petition.

01/19/07         Mandate issued.

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 06-10141

127 S.Ct. 2269

03/15/07         Petition filed.

05/14/07         Petition denied.

Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition ofthe Sentence:

Chandler’s Direct Appeal and 3.850 Motion each tookapproximately three years to complete.  During the progression of the3.850 Motion, CCRC-M, Chandler’s defense counsel, asked to be removed from thecase citing a heavy caseload.  After that, Baya Harrison, Esq. took overChandler’s defense representation on 08/27/99, was granted an extension infiling Chandler’s amended 3.850 Motion on 11/01/99 and, in turn, filed theamended 3.850 Motion on 04/30/00. 

Case Information:

Chandler filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Courton 12/05/94.  In that appeal, he argued that admitting evidence regardingthe sexual battery of Judy Blair unfairly prejudiced his case.  Chandleralso claimed that the trial court erred in repeatedly requiring him to invoke hisFifth Amendment right to remain silent, and in admitting statements made by hisdaughter Kristal Mays.  Regarding the penalty phase, Chandler contendedthat the court erred in accepting his waiver of the presentation of mitigatingevidence, and in the application of aggravating and mitigatingcircumstances.  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions andsentences of death on 10/16/97.

Chandler then filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in theU.S. Supreme Court, which was denied on 04/20/98.

Next, Chandler filed a 3.850 Motion in the State CircuitCourt, which was denied on 06/27/01.  He promptly filed an appeal of thatdecision in the Florida Supreme Court on 07/05/01, which was affirmed on04/17/03.  Chandler’s Motion for Rehearing was denied on 6/24/03.

On 06/27/03, Chandler filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus in the U.S. District Court that was denied on 02/08/06. 

Chandler filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in theU.S. Court of Appeals on 02/13/06, and on 12/20/06, the USCA affirmed thedenial of the petition.  A Mandate was issued on 01/19/07.    

Chandler filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the U.S.Supreme Court on 03/15/07 that was denied on 05/14/07.

Institutional Adjustment: 

DATE          DAYS            VIOLATION               LOCATION      

--------           ----         ----------------------------     -------------------

12/15/01         0           DISOBEYINGORDER     UNION C.I.        

________________________________________________________________________

01/09/02          ew

01/11/02          approved         ws

08/25/09          updated           kkr