His modus operandi consisted of luring the men from piano bars in Manhattan, murdering and dismembering them at an unknown location, and dumping their bodies in garbage bags along highways in New Jersey.

In the late 1950s, Rogers and his family relocated to Florida so his father could work a higher-paying job in sheet metal manufacturing.

Much to the dismay of his father, Rogers didn't show an interest in sports, instead preferring to go to girl scout meetings with his mother.

He wrapped Spencer in his nylon boy scout tent, dragged the body out of his home, past the parking lot, and into his car.

Police were able to identify Spencer's body after tracing a key found in his pants to a post office box he rented.

[5] Rogers also employed the "gay panic defense", claiming that Spencer made unwanted sexual advances toward him prior to allegedly attacking him.

[11] Between 1991 and 1993, four gay and bisexual men were lured from piano bars in Manhattan and later found dismembered and murdered in trash bins along highways in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

[12] Although Richard Rogers was only convicted of two of these killings, those of Thomas Mulcahy and Anthony Marrero, he is suspected of committing all four of the murders.

[13][14] The following morning, Anderson's remains were discovered in a trash barrel by a maintenance worker along the westbound side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Due to rigor mortis, the medical examiner determined that Anderson had died less than 37 hours prior to the discovery of his body.

[16] On July 10, 1992, maintenance workers found five trash bags containing the partial remains of Mulcahy along Route 72 in Woodland Township, New Jersey.

Two hours later, a sixth bag containing his legs was found at a picnic area of Garden State Parkway in Stafford Township, New Jersey.

[18] Mulcahy's death was caused by multiple stab wounds to the chest, and his body parts had been washed clean of blood.

[21] On May 10, 1993, six plastic bags containing Marrero's remains were found off Crow Hill Road in Manchester township, New Jersey.

Marrero's cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the back and torso, and like Mulcahy, his body parts had been cleaned.

That night, he was witnessed drinking with and talking to a man who called himself "Mark" or "John" and claimed to work as a nurse at St. Vincent's hospital.

[23] On the morning of July 31, 1993, a man found a suitcase and a bag containing Sakara's shoes, pants, shirt, and wallet at a Haverstraw Bay overlook.

A few hours later, a hot dog vendor found Sakara's head and arms wrapped in two garbage bags inside of a trash barrel.

[26][28] Rogers is also suspected in the 1986 murder of Jack Franklin Andrews, whose body parts were discovered in garbage bags and quilts at a rest stop along Route 8 in Litchfield, Connecticut.

[29][30] Andrews is also suspected of being a victim of another unidentified serial killer, who murdered and sexually mutilated at least two men in the United States between 1980 and 1986.

[31] Investigators believe that Rogers may have killed whenever he went on vacation, as he frequently traveled to California, Florida, Massachusetts, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Arkansas.

[32] Using cyanoacrylate fuming, 28 latent fingerprints and three palm prints were recovered from the eight trash bags that held Peter Anderson's body.

Investigators also traced the origins of the bag containing the glove to a CVS branch on Staten Island through its SKU number.

[22][34] After Michael Sakara's killing, eight law enforcement agencies in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania set up a task force to catch the perpetrator.

[36] On May 28, 2001, police approached Rogers at his job, telling him he was a victim of credit card fraud so that he would agree to be questioned.

Additionally, they discovered highlighted passages about decapitation and dismemberment in Rogers's Bible, videotapes of horror films, a New Jersey road map, and Polaroid pictures of shirtless men with stab wounds drawn on them.

Rogers was offered a plea deal during jury selection, which stated that if he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in both cases, he would receive two 32-year-sentences with the possibility of parole after fifteen years.

Additionally, if he pleaded guilty to third degree murder in the death of Peter Anderson, he would receive a total of ten to twenty years in prison.

[37] Several witnesses including those who discovered the remains of the victims, detectives who investigated the case, and fingerprint comparison analysts testified at the trial.

Although Rogers was never charged in the killings of Peter Anderson and Michael Sakara, their cases were allowed to be discussed at the trial due to their similarities with the other murders.