Where is Dayton Leroy Rogers now? Whereabouts explored ahead of The Woman in the Woods special on ID

Investigation Discovery's upcoming special, The Woman in the Woods, is set to dive back into the infamous case of Dayton Leroy Rogers. Dayton was a convicted serial killer connected to the murders of as many as at least eight women. Since he used to bury the bodies on private forest lands outside Molalla, Oregon, he was named the "Mollala Forest Murderer."

The Woman in the Woods will chronicle his story and crimes in detail when it premieres on October 23, 2024, at 10 pm EST. The synopsis for the special reads:

"In 1987, women's bodies are found in a forest outside of Molalla, Oregon; detectives struggle to find a lead, then they get a break when another case shows similar characteristics."

Despite the heinous crimes, Dayton Leroy Rogers has not yet been executed. Instead, his death sentence has been overturned four times so far, with the most recent one coming on November 12, 2021.

He has, however, been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of Parole for the first murder he was convicted of. He remains incarcerated at the Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, Oregon, as of today. He may receive a similar sentence for the other six proven murders.

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Who is Dayton Leroy Rogers and what did he do?

Born around Moscow in Idaho on September 30, 1953, Dayton Leroy Rogers had brushes with the law from a young age. He reportedly started to break the windshields of passing cars by firing a BB gun at the age of 13. By the time he turned 16, he stabbed a 15-year-old on their second date.

As he was still young, heavy legal action was not taken against him, but this only escalated his violent behavior. At the age of 20, Rogers was arrested for attacking two women with a beer bottle. He was found not guilty by the reason of insanity and was sent to Oregon State Hospital, from where he was discharged just months later.

As an adult, he would go on to commit a hoard of brutal crimes against women, which included assault, torture, and murder. He reportedly targeted "street" women, which concluded s*x workers and runaways.

He took these women to secluded areas, where he would tie them, cut them, and assault them repeatedly before killing them. He proceeded to bury them in the particular area of Mollala Forest, from where authorities retrieved seven bodies. His crimes reportedly spanned from 1983 to 1987, when he was caught following a very public murder.

Dayton Leroy Rogers was finally caught after he murdered Jennifer Lisa Smith in August 1987. He reportedly stabbed her 11 times in the breasts, abdomen, and back in a parking lot off of SE McLoughlin Blvd in Oak Grove in unincorporated Clackamas County. This incident had several witnesses, including one witness who followed him through Milwaukie, Gladstone, Oregon City, and Canby to reach his location and note it down.

This led to his arrest and conviction. Later, the bodies of the seven other women were also uncovered in Mollala Forest, which were connected to him. He was charged with the murders of Lisa Marie Mock, Maureen Ann Hodges, Christine Lotus Adams, Cynthia De Vore, Nondace Cervantes, and Riatha Gyles. The seventh body was reportedly not identified till 2013.

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Where is Dayton Leroy Rogers now?

After the murder conviction of Lisa, Dayton Leroy Rogers was sentenced to life in prison. With 13 counts related to the deaths of six women, the jury sentenced him to death. However, over the years, his death sentences have been overturned four times, with this happening most recently in November 2021.

He remains in prison without the possibility of parole, however. He is incarcerated at the Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, Oregon, and will perhaps remain there till his death.

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The upcoming Investigation Discovery special, The Woman in the Woods will cover this case in more detail.