The Casanova Killer: A Legacy of Loss and a Wait for Justice

Thirty years ago, Sandra Gallagher, a woman known for her radiant smile and spontaneous acts of kindness, became a victim of Glen Edward Rogers, dubbed the "Casanova Killer" for his charm and ability to lure women. Rogers is scheduled to be executed in Florida, bringing a long-awaited resolution to a series of brutal crimes that spanned several states.

Gallagher’s life was cut short on September 28, 1995, in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. Her sister, Jerri Vallicella, remembers her as someone who found joy in brightening the lives of others. Gallagher’s habit of buying a flower, usually a rose or carnation, to give to a random stranger epitomized her desire to spread happiness. "She wanted everyone to smile and be happy," Vallicella recalled.

The trusting nature that defined Gallagher’s personality may have inadvertently made her a target. On the night of her murder, she met Rogers at a local bar. After playing pool and exchanging flirty banter, he asked her for a ride. Initially hesitant, Gallagher sought reassurance from another woman in the bathroom, who vouched for Rogers. This ultimately led to Gallagher’s fateful decision to give him a lift to his apartment.

That act of kindness proved to be her last. Gallagher became one of five victims linked to Rogers. He earned the moniker "Casanova Killer" due to his good looks and ability to pick up women in bars.

Authorities identified a pattern in Rogers’s victims: four were women with reddish hair in their 30s, and three were mothers. The speed of the killings was alarming, with three murders occurring within a six-day period.

Following his arrest, Rogers made unsubstantiated claims of involvement in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, as well as a boast of killing around 70 people overall. However, no evidence supported these statements.

Eyewitness accounts place Rogers at McReds Bar on the night of Gallagher’s disappearance. Gallagher, a 33-year-old married mother of three with strawberry blonde hair, was celebrating a $1,200 Keno win. Rogers, described as wearing cowboy attire, approached Gallagher, who initially rebuffed his advances. However, he returned later, and this time, Gallagher greeted him warmly. They were seen dancing, engaging playfully, and even sharing a kiss on the cheek.

Tragically, she agreed to give him a ride, and the next morning, her body was discovered in her burning truck. She had been strangled and the vehicle set ablaze.

Rogers fled the state, confessing to a friend that "she’s dead." He ended up in Louisiana, where he met Andy Lou Jiles Sutton, a "very beautiful" redhead with an outgoing personality, at the It’ll Do Lounge in Bossier City. They are believed to have had a sexual encounter before Rogers left for Mississippi.

In Mississippi, authorities believe Rogers killed Linda Price, a 34-year-old redheaded mother of two. She was found stabbed to death in her bathtub on November 3, 1995.

Rogers then traveled to Florida and met Tina Marie Cribbs at Showtown Bar in Tampa. Cribbs, a redheaded single mother of two, agreed to give Rogers a ride. On November 7, 1995, she was found dead in the bathtub of his hotel room, stabbed multiple times. Rogers’ watch was discovered underneath her body.

Authorities suspect Rogers returned to Louisiana and killed Sutton, who was found stabbed to death in her bed on November 9, 1995.

Rogers’s crimes landed him on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was apprehended in Kentucky while driving Cribbs’ car following a widely televised police chase.

Rogers was convicted of the murders of Cribbs and Gallagher. Prosecutors chose not to pursue charges in Louisiana or Mississippi, reasoning that he was being tried in Florida, a state with the death penalty, and that justice would be served.

Gallagher’s death left a void in the lives of her three sons, who were 9, 10, and 14 years old at the time. Vallicella emphasized that her sons "were her whole entire world." She added, "There was nothing that lit up her smile and her eyes like her little boys." One of Gallagher’s sons now has two daughters, and one of them has a daughter, meaning Gallagher would have been a great-grandmother, a milestone she never had the chance to experience.

Gallagher’s early life was marked by hardship. As the oldest of four siblings, she often assumed a maternal role. However, she also had a rebellious streak. Vallicella described her as "the first punk rocker in Paradise," referring to their hometown in northern California. Gallagher’s unconventional style often shocked their grandmother.

Gallagher served in the Navy for several years and volunteered to visit death row inmates at Leavenworth, Kansas, as part of a military program, hoping to offer them some comfort.

At the time of her death, Gallagher was planning to divorce her husband and move to Paradise to be closer to her mother and oldest son. "She was an amazing person," Vallicella said. "I could never, never put into words how beautiful she was. She just wanted to help people."

Mary Dicke, the 84-year-old mother of victim Tina Marie Cribbs, battled brain and lung cancer, driven by the desire to witness Rogers’s execution. She expressed her faith that she would live to see justice served.

Vallicella has long awaited Rogers’s execution. "It’s not bringing back my sister," she stated. "He can never bring back the 30 years of hell that we have suffered waiting for this to be over." She hopes that after the execution, she will finally be able to sleep peacefully, free from the nightmares that have haunted her for three decades. "It’s been 30 years of nightmares, and I’m ready for this to be over."

Rogers’ execution marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the families of his victims. While it cannot undo the devastation he caused, it offers a sense of closure and the hope that his reign of terror will finally be brought to an end.