PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Dayton Leroy Rogers, aka The Molalla Forest Murderer, is back in a Clackamas County courtroom to be resentenced after the Oregon Supreme Court overturned his death sentence.
Rogers, who is now 68, has been in prison since his 1989 conviction on 13 counts in connection with the deaths of six women, whose bodies were found in a forest near Molalla in 1987. Rogers had one of the highest confirmed death counts of any Oregon serial killer, and most of his victims were picked up in Portland.
Though it is possible his resentencing could result in a parole hearing in the future, it is likely to result in life imprisonment instead of death. The sentencing hearing started at 9 a.m Wednesday. in Clackamas County, where the murders all took place. It could last a couple of days.
The Oregon Supreme Court overturned his death sentence in November 2021 which narrowed the application of the death penalty to match a 2019 law.
Rogers was arrested August 7, 1987 and connected to the rape, torture and deaths of 7 women: Cynthia “Dee Dee” Diane DeVore, 21; Maureen Ann Hodges, 26; Reatha Marie Gyles, 16; Nondace “Noni” Kae Cervantes, 26; Lisa Marie Mock, 23; Christine Lotus Adams, 35; and Jennifer Lisa Smith, 25.
He was convicted of killing 6 of them with a knife. An eighth victim believed killed by Rogers was found but never identified, and Rogers was never charged in her death.
The Portland Tribune, a media partner with KOIN 6 News, contributed to this report