Killer of Ohio mother and daughters to die

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a death warrant for the man convicted of killing an Ohio mother and her two teenage daughters more than 20 years ago.

A court convicted Oba Chandler of luring Joan Rogers and daughters Michelle and Christe onto his boat in June 1989, sexually assaulting each one and then throwing them into Tampa Bay with concrete blocks tied to their necks, The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Tuesday.

Chandler, who turned 65 Monday, is to be executed Nov. 15 at 4 p.m., the death warrant states.

It took St. Petersburg detectives three years to track down a suspect in the murders and two more for Chandler to be prosecuted and sentenced to death.

Some involved in the case expressed regret death by lethal injection would not hold the same terror for Chandler that he inflicted upon the Rogers family.

"What was so atrocious in this is that in all likelihood two of the three watched the first one die," chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett said. "And one of the three watched the other two die."

Bartlett called Chandler "an animal," adding, "If anybody forfeited his right to live, it's certainly this guy."