[5] On the morning of March 1, 1987, the body of 21-year-old Stacy Dawn Baldwin, a Red Mini Barn clerk who was working the night shift, was found in an archery range about five miles northwest of Blackfoot.

[6] Soon after, on the morning of March 17, 20-year-old Nolan Haddon, a clerk working at a convenience store in Idaho Falls, was found critically injured in the establishment's walk-in cooler.

[7] Four days later, the body of 34-year-old Susan Michelbacher, a special ed teacher, was found in a remote lava field west of Idaho Falls.

As a result, Rhoades was first charged with Michelbacher's murder, in addition to first-degree kidnapping, robbery, rape, desecration of a corpse and five counts of firearm violations.

[8] Among the prosecution's witnesses was Nevada detective Victor Rodriguez, who claimed that he and five other officers had heard the defendant admit to Michelbacher's murder while in their custody, but had failed to file the statement in a report due to "an oversight".

[10] By January 26, the defense team had rested their case, with the proceedings being delayed for two hours as court officials had to wait for Rhoades' suit to be returned from a dry cleaning store.

His attorneys contended that the circumstantial evidence of the prosecution was flimsy, and that his client's alibi of babysitting his sister's two children at the supposed time of the crime could be easily corroborated by his family members.

[7] In the beginning of the sentencing phase for the Baldwin charges, Rhoades' attorneys filed a motion for a retrial by request of his family members, which was initially denied by Justice James Herndon.

[4] Around the same time, he was proposed as a possible suspect in the June 21, 1984 murder of 25-year-old Lisa Ehlers, who was found shot to death at a roadside in the Jackson Hole valley, near Bondurant, Wyoming.

[27] As his final statement, Rhoades addressed his mother and executioners, stating that he forgave them, before confessing that he indeed had committed the Michelbacher killing, apologizing to her husband.

[3] His last meal consisted of hot dogs, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup, onions, relish, baked beans, veggie sticks, ranch dressing, fruit with gelatin and strawberry ice cream cups.