Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - "Last Call Killer" Richard Rogers Pt. 2

Episode Date: June 23, 2022

After four horrific murders, a joint task force was no closer to identifying the Last Call Killer. But improvements in crime technology allowed them to send the killer's fingerprints to law enforcement nationwide. The one murder Richard Rogers got away with in Maine wound up putting him behind bars for his other murders. Parcasters, we have exciting news! Our first book hits bookshelves July 12th. Don’t miss this chilling summer read that takes you deep into the darkest sides of human nature. Learn more at www.parcast.com/cults! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, listeners, it's Vanessa. For years, Parcast has worked tirelessly to bring you an unprecedented look at history's most radical true crime events. Your support has not only allowed us to keep exploring these stories, but has driven us to keep expanding as well. So as a thank you to the Parcast listeners, I am honored to announce the release of our first book, Cults, Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups, and Understanding the People Who Join Them. It's available on July 12th and you can pre-order it today at parcast.com slash cults. The Branch Davidians, the Ant Hill Kids, Heaven's Gate and more. Cults combs through the terrifying details never explored in any of Parcast's series before.

This is a passion project only made possible by you. So we truly hope you'll enjoy it. Visit parkast.com slash cults to pre-order your copy of Cults inside the world's most notorious groups and understanding the people who join them. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of gore, murder,

assault, sexual situations, and dismemberment. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Richard Rogers entered his apartment already wiping the sweat from his brow. The fifth floor was always boiling, which wasn't the best welcome home after a 12-hour shift at the hospital. But Richard was used to it.

He was also used to the exhaustion of working nights, so instead of going right to bed, he took a few minutes to tidy up the already pristine living room. There was nothing Richard loved more than the short, orderly lines in the carpet after vacuuming. Well, almost nothing. Passing by window, Richard noticed a construction crew outside. The group of men were hard at work in the morning sun.

To stay cool, they'd take a little. off their shirts. Richard stood mesmerized, watching their muscles ripple beneath tan, hardened skin. A familiar feeling of desire twisted in his gut. Richard tore himself away from the window and grabbed a Polaroid camera. After snapping a picture, he waited for the shirtless figures to appear on the shiny surface. Their masculine forms growing sharper with each second. Richard stared hungrily at the image. After a few moments, he picked up a red marker and slowly pressed the tip into one of the worker's torsos. Then he drew a short, orderly line over the flesh. For a moment, it almost felt like the real thing, like he was holding a scalpel instead of a pen, and that blood, not ink,

was leaking out of the man's body. A rush of satisfaction swept through Richard. He took a deep breath and looked back out the window at the construction crew. With the police in a frenzy trying to solve his last murder, it would be reckless to kill again so soon. But Richard couldn't hold off forever. Pictures wouldn't cut it for long. Hi, I'm Greg Paulson. This is serial killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we'll finish our exploration of Richard Rogers, whose dismembered victims shocked the entire city of New York. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson.

Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. Last time, we examined Richard's upbringing and how his nervous disposition and sexuality made him a frequent target for bullies. Once he moved to New York, he thrived in his nursing career, gained more confidence and started frequenting gay bars. Instead of companionship, however, Richard looked for victims to seduce, murder, and slice into pieces. Today, we'll learn more about Richard's gruesome rituals and follow the desperate attempt by authorities to track down the last call killer.

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He was a pleasant and helpful neighbor. And as a surgical nurse, he lovingly tended to children during and after cardiac surgery. But underneath his scrubs, Richard was an entirely different man. He spent his nights off in Manhattan's gay clubs, lingering until closing time, when he would pick up the stragglers enjoying their last drink of the night. By July of 1992, the 42-year-old had taken three lives, and with each gruesome encounter, he learned, matured, and evolved as a murderer.

After killing and surgically dismembering his most recent victim, 57-year-old Thomas Mulcahy, Richard finally seemed to have experienced the sadistic rush of power and pleasure that he'd been hunting for. But after that, it was important to bite his time. Richard knew the police were looking for Thomas's murderer, so he decided to wait until the investigation died down before killing again. For the next few months, he kept his head down. He went to work as usual and completed his duties in the same professional and meticulous manner he was known for. He even continued visiting gay bars, enjoying a few drinks and the pulsing beat of the music. He'd chat with strangers and maybe even dance for a while.

On the outside, it was as though his life was the same as it ever was. But Richard yearned to kill again. He felt like he needed an outlet for his frustrations, something innocuous yet satisfying. And one day, almost out of the blue, he found it. Richard was sitting at home when he noticed a group of shirtless construction workers outside his apartment. After watching the men for a few moments, Richard immediately grabbed a Polaroid camera and snapped a few shots. Once the prints developed, Richard used a red marker to doodle stab wounds on each torso. The troubling vandalism revealed just where his mind was.

Vanessa is going to take over in the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. Once a serial killer commits a homicide, they may only feel satiated for a short time before they need to take another life. As we've discussed in the past,

these cooling off periods are different for each killer. But a 2021 case study published in the Forensic Science International, mind and law, found that serial killers may actually extend their inactive time by reliving the murder. Some photograph their victim's court. or even keep body parts as a means to relive and satiate the feeling. In Richard's case, he imagined killing the men in his photos.

It wasn't the same for him, but it would have to do for now. But Richard wasn't the only one fighting against time. After a few months of fruitless investigation, police declared Thomas Mulcahy's murder a cold case. That meant Richard probably felt free to hunt again. It was May of 1993 and New York 9,000. nightlife was buzzing with the promise and excitement of summer. But Richard wasn't interested in hunting at a bar. After his long wait, it seems he wanted a sure thing. We don't know where Richard first encountered 44-year-old Anthony Edward Marrero, but it might have been in the Port Authority bus terminal.

That's where Anthony usually met his Johns. On the night of May 6th, Anthony told his friends that he was going to meet a date in Greenwich Village. He didn't say who, and they didn't ask. They knew that Anthony could take care of himself. Unfortunately, that was only until he met Richard Rogers in an unfamiliar environment. Four days later, a local resident was driving along a small road in Manchester Township, New Jersey, about 70 miles south of Richard's home on Staten Island. Seeing an incongruous bag of trash along the curb, the driver pulled over to investigate.

As soon as he got out of his car, he could smell something odd. Curious, he opened the bag. inside was a human leg. Terrified, the man called the authorities immediately. Detective Mike Mohel from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office rushed to the scene with several other officers. When Detective Mohel got out of his car, he could smell the rancid stench of decaying body parts, and he wasn't even close to the bag yet. A quick search of the area uncovered six additional parcels like the first one.

They were all double-bagged, knotted, and heavy. By one, the team opened the sacks to find the remaining body parts, plus some extra unused plastic bags. To the officers on the scene, the discovery wasn't just gruesome. It was hauntingly familiar. Some of the Ocean County detectives had been present when Thomas Mulcahy's dismembered body turned up just ten months earlier. Now, looking at the neatly cut limbs, black double-knotted bags and stab wounds in this new

torso, it felt like deja vu. Normally, it would take time, resources, and even a bit of luck for authorities to link two murders that occurred a year apart. But in this case, there was no mistaking the handiwork of the murderer. At that moment, the police knew they were looking for a serial killer. Officials identified Anthony using his fingerprints, which were in the system because he'd been arrested for prostitution in the past. His record also gave them a starting point to try and track his movements before he died. Investigators spoke with other sex workers at the Port Authority bus terminal, but it seemed like nobody knew who Anthony was with the night he disappeared.

Undeterred by the lack of witnesses, they turned to forensics instead. Just as they had during Thomas Mulcahy's investigation, the detectives tried tracking the serial code on the bags packaging. The search gave them 11 potential stores the bags could have come from. One of them just happened to be located on Staten Island, which matched the area the bags Thomas' body was found in. Feeling like they might have caught a break at last, the detectives followed up with the Staten Island store.

By looking up the serial code, the clerk discovered that the bags had been purchased within the last week. Unfortunately, it seems there was no video surveillance footage of whoever bought the bags. So although they knew where and when the supplies were purchased, they were still at a dead end as to who. The only thing the detectives could do now was to pull prints off the bags. They found three and sent them out to every state to get an ID on their killer.

But it was hopeless. Everything came back negative. However, it's unclear if Richard planned to go to stores with no security cameras or if he simply got lucky. But whatever was driving his decisions, he seemed to become more reckless with each new kill. And while that made him more likely to slip up, it also made him more dangerous. Coming up, Richard, violence attracts media attention and sparks fear throughout New York City. Hi listeners, it's Carter from Parcast Network. It's the perfect time to grab yourself a second helping of the Spotify original from Parcast, Devious Dads. Our limited series is back with a new collection of episodes from across the network, exposing the unfortunate families whose patriarchs

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However, it's possible that he didn't have steady control over his killing habit. Richard was meticulous and organized in nearly every aspect of his life except for violence. It seems he didn't plan out his attacks ahead of time and had instead chosen most of his victims at random. While his dissection rituals were neat, as was his method of double-bagging the limbs, he still dumped the body parts haphazardly along various highways, where they were easily found. According to the FBI's classification system, an organized killer can socialize normally and have a high level of intelligence and methodical personality. They premeditate their attacks, can restrain themselves, and are generally,

motivated to kill because of a stress trigger, like social rejection. And while it seems Richard may have demonstrated a number of these tendencies, his attacks and disposal of bodies appeared to be opportunistic, which is a sign of a disorganized killer, someone who kills compulsively. In reality, Richard was likely a mixed killer, an offender who displays both disorganized and organized tendencies. Some planning may have been involved, but unforeseen events may have also led to the murder. Likewise, we still don't know everything that happened once Richard selected his victims. It's possible he attacked men who rejected him romantically. However, it's also possible that he simply craved the thrill of murder and couldn't restrain himself when he saw a chance. And in the city that never sleeps,

there were plenty of chances to be had. On July 29, 1993, Richard took a night off from work at Mount Linae Medical Center. Perhaps his only aimed that evening was to relax and grab a drink at a bar. However, when he walked into Five Oaks Piano Bar and saw 56-year-old Michael Sakara, his intentions shifted. Around 3 a.m., Richard sat down in an empty seat next to Michael and struck up a conversation. Michael was a regular at the bar. He came in around 9.30 each night after a long day working as a typesetter for the New York Law Journal. He'd drink, talk with strangers, and on occasion, and sing with the musicians until the place closed at four the following morning. Then he'd do it all over again the next night.

In other words, Michael was practically the mayor of Five Oaks. He was also a welcoming soul and happily introduced Richard to the bartender, a good friend of his named Lisa Hall. Richard made polite conversation with Lisa, telling her he was a nurse at the nearby St. Vincent's Hospital. Knowing Michael's trustworthy nature, Lisa kept an eye in the pair as they chatted. However, when she stepped away to serve someone else, the two men disappeared. It wasn't usual for Michael to go home with someone, and for some reason Lisa had a bad feeling that night.

When Michael didn't return to the bar the following evening, her worry intensified. Two days later, on July 31, food vendor Ronald Calandria, directed his food truck off the road onto an overlook in Haverstraw, New York. About an hour and 15 north of Manhattan, this was Ronald's usual spot. He'd set up every day around 10.30, ready for a day of selling dogs. That morning, he unwrapped his hot dogs, buns, and condiments, and went to throw the packaging in a nearby garbage drum, just like usual. However, to Ronald's surprise, the usually empty garbage drums were full. Looking closer, he noticed a dark, sticky-looking liquid coating some of the bags within the drum. Ronald picked up one of the bags, which was far heavier than he expected. Then he untied the double knot,

only to find another bag inside also double-knotted. As his fingers undid the last tie and the bag opened, Ronald found himself staring at Michael Sakara's severed head. Officers from Havershaw and Rockland County Police quickly arrived to assess the disturbing scene. It was eerily similar to Richard's two most recent dump sites, but there were a few key differences. First, they could initially only locate the victim's arms and head.

Additionally, the limbs were fresher than the last two. Though there was no torso to examine, it looked like Michael died not from stab wounds, but blunt forced trauma to the head. According to the medical examiner, the skull was fractured in a way that resembled cracks on an egg.

Whoever killed him used a heavy, sharp object and a lot of force. Once Rockland County Police identified Michael, they started interviewing his family, friends, and co-workers. It didn't take them long to hone in on five oaks, as the last place Michael was seen alive. This discovery led them to Lisa Hall. She was devastated to hear what happened to her friend,

but told them about the man Michael took home on the 29th. She described him as best as she could, which was difficult since Richard was extremely average-looking. He was a white male in his early 40s with a medium build, but Lisa had gotten a good, long look at him, which helped fill in a few more details about his appearance. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember his name, but she told authorities it was definitely something common.

So far, it wasn't a lot to work with, but Lisa recalled one other very specific piece of information. The man had told her he was a nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital. Richard actually worked at Mount Sinai Medical Center, so it seemed he meant to send anyone on his trail in a different direction. But he couldn't do anything about his appearance. Thanks to Lisa's description, investigators had a composite sketch of their suspect,

as well as the knowledge that his name was fairly common. And even more valuable help was on the way. Two days after Michael's body was discovered, several members of the New Jersey police showed up at the Rockland County Prosecutor's Office. They'd heard about the crime scene and noticed the obvious similarities to the murders of Thomas Mulcahy and Anthony Marrero. Within the week, two dozen investigators from Rockland County, New Jersey State Police, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and the Havers Straw and Manchester Police Departments

came together to create a task force. They had one goal to catch the monster terrorizing New York. The new team didn't have to wait long for more developments in the case. On August 8th, a volunteer fireman was riding his motorcycle nine miles north of where Michael's head and arms had been found. Seeing a pile of bags to the side of the road, he stopped to investigate. Sure enough, the four bags contained Michael's life. legs and his torso.

That same day, the New York Times ran its first piece on the series of brutal murders on August 8, 1993. Until now, they hadn't reported about the murders because none of the victims were from New York and none of their bodies were found in state. But Michael's death changed that. The Times reported that while there wasn't hard evidence that the serial killer was picking off gay men, the victims shared similarities. The story was picked up by every media outlawful.

led in the city. The Daily News even gave the mysterious murderer a nickname. Because he always seemed to choose his victims at closing time, they dubbed him the last call killer. While panic spread through Manhattan and the five boroughs, the newly appointed task force stayed focused. They had a composite drawing of the man last seen with Michael and the incorrect belief that he worked at St. Vincent's Hospital. The detectives mailed the drawing to the staff at St. Vincent's, hoping someone would recognize the image. amazingly, someone did. Almost immediately, police were told that the composite looked like a nurse named Sam Peters.

To be clear, that's not Sam's real name, but after digging into his life, detectives felt like they might have found a real killer. Fueling that hunch was the fact that Sam lived in the same Staten Island neighborhood where the killer had bought the garbage bags to dispose of his victims. Detectives brought Sam in for questioning. Once he was out the station, they took his fingerprints, to compare with those found on Anthony Marrero's bags. But after asking some basic questions, the team learned that Sam had alibis for every single night a murder occurred. Suddenly, their only suspect seemed like a total bust.

Meanwhile, Richard likely monitored the media buzz from afar. It was like seeing a murder mystery novel unfold in real time, one that he was writing. We can't be sure how Richard felt about his newfound sense of popularity. It's possible he was proud of the impact his actions had. After all, he was just a nurse from Florida. Now the entire city of New York was afraid of him. However, the coverage probably made him anxious as well. Richard didn't want to be caught.

He seemingly enjoyed his job, felt comfortable in his home in Staten Island, and he loved killing. He wasn't ready to give it all up. So, summoning the same story, strength and equanimity he used during his 10-month break from killing, Richard took another hiatus. It didn't matter if it was one month, one year, or 10 years. He'd wait as long as it took for him to feel secure striking again. Then he'd feel the thrill of slicing up another victim. Coming up, a morning widow brings Richard to justice.

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It seemed like 43-year-old Richard Rogers was in danger of being discovered by a special task force, but the authority still had a long way to go. After dropping Sam Peters as a suspect, investigators had to start from scratch. At one point, there were over 20 officers working on the squad trying to uncover leads from witnesses and the gory crime scenes. But all they had was proof the killer bought bags from stores in Staten Island. Plus, some fingerprints from the bags in which Anthony Marrero and Thomas Mulcahy's severed limbs were stored. The technology to lift prints from the bag hadn't been advanced enough at the time. Now they could get the prints, but they weren't detailed enough to show individual characteristics

and make exact matches in a database. Feeling like they were at a dead end without a viable suspect, the task force was at their wits end. They would have to wait until their killer struck again. but they didn't know that Richard had already taken himself out of the equation. Exactly why he stopped killing that year has never become clear. But there are several possibilities. According to a 2005 multidisciplinary study published by the FBI, there have been a few cases where serial killers have stopped killing altogether.

The paper pointed to Dennis Rader as an example. He murdered his last victim in 1991, then didn't kill again. He was eventually arrested in 2005. The FBI used this case to demonstrate how some serial killers may choose to stop murdering, but experts like forensic psychologist Dr. Casey Jordan have another perspective. According to Dr. Jordan, a serial killer is usually incapable of stopping their compulsion and is only stopped by practical reasons like jail. Working with that theory, it's entirely possible that Richard was simply biding his time

until he struck again. As Richard laid low, weeks turned into months, and the task force still lacked any legitimate leads. Eventually, the case ran cold, and after a while of searching, investigators reluctantly gave up their efforts. While many of the task force members believed the last call killer would strike again one day,

it felt like they were burning through resources trying to catch a ghost. But Richard Rogers wasn't a ghost. And although we can't know for certain if he had any violent slip-ups during this time, it seems he hadn't harmed anyone for over five years. That said, it seems he came close at least once. According to Elon Green's book, The Last Call,

one night in autumn 1998, 48-year-old Richard was sitting in Regent East Piano Bar in Manhattan when he spotted Joe Gallagher across the room. Joe and Richard knew each other already, as they were both regulars at Regents and the townhouse, the piano bar where Peter Anderson was last seen. The two made some small talk while enjoying, the live music, they discussed Joe's job as a legal proofreader and Richard's nursing career.

Richard must have been feeling bold because he invited Joe over to his Staten Island apartment. The invitation was spontaneous, but not unwelcome. So Joe accepted the offer and went back to Richard's place. Once they arrived, Joe asked to use the phone. He was a caregiver for his former partner and wanted to let him know where he was. While Joe made his call, it's possible Richard reassess the situation. If he had planned to attack Joe, the phone call was a potential trail that led directly to his doorstep. Again, it doesn't seem Richard had violent intentions when he brought Joe home. As far as we can tell, he maintained the facade of a sweet, humble host. He and Joe chatted for a while longer, then went to the bedroom where they had sex.

Afterward, they fell asleep. At least Joe did. Richard stayed wide awake while Joe lay next to him, completely vulnerable. Even though he knew the phone call would implicate him if anything happened to Joe, he was likely battling his deepest urges. All night, Richard watched Joe sleeping beside him. Around 4 in the morning, he couldn't fight it anymore. The nurse slowly reached over and placed his hands around Joe's neck. Joe woke up immediately and locked eyes with Richard.

His face was expressionless as his fingers tightened ever so gently. Joe was confused. Richard hadn't said he was interested in kinky sex. If that's what this was, it felt wrong. Trying to stay calm, Joe told Richard that he wasn't enjoying what was happening. The simple statement seemed to snap Richard out of whatever he intended to do, and he released his grip on Joe's neck. That morning, Richard drove Joe to the ferry as if nothing had happened.

But it was clear to Joe that something, Almost happened. He never forgot that night and never went back to Richard Staten Island home again. If that incident was a hint that Richard was ready for more violence, his plan was set to derail. In 1998, Margaret Mulcahy reached out to the New Jersey State Police for an update on her husband's case. Richard had murdered Thomas seven years earlier, and his death revealed his romantic affairs. But that didn't make a difference to his widow, Margaret. She wanted justice. After Margaret's calls, detectives from various county and state jurisdictions did a little digging, at least enough to give her some peace of mind.

Nothing about the case had changed in the intervening years, but detectives realized that the resources had improved since the trail went cold. First of all, criminal databases were becoming more accurate and interconnected by the year. More importantly, there had been major advances in fingerprinting technology. Now, more detailed prints could be lifted from difficult materials like plastic. bags. However, this technology wasn't that advanced in the U.S., but there was one facility outside the states with access that was willing to help, the Toronto Police Department in Canada,

so detectives carefully placed the plastic bags from Thomas Mulcahy's crime scene into a police car. Then they drove eight hours from New York to Toronto to make sure the evidence arrived safely. Thanks to the new technology, they easily lifted 17 fingerprints off the bags. After that, they compared the prince to those from Anthony Morero's crime scene. They found that 16 of the prints came from the same unidentified person. The New Jersey State Police then sent out the prints and a summary of the case to authorities in every state.

They hoped that their killer's prints would already be in some system somewhere. They just needed an ID. With that done, they waited for a response, but for a while they heard nothing but silence. On May 14, 2001, the New Jersey authorities received a call from officials in Maine. The caller said that the fingerprints they ran matched someone in their system. His name was Richard Rogers. Richard had killed his housemate Fred Spencer in 1972 and was fingerprinted following his arrest. He was eventually acquitted of the crime, but the consequences of his actions came back on him

almost 30 years later. Now that they had a name for their suspect, authority. The authorities started looking into Richard's life. One of the first things they noticed was that he lived in Staten Island, where the plastic bags were purchased. After accessing his work records, detectives also realized that Richard had taken the day off of work every single night a murder occurred. Feeling confident, they took a photo of Richard to Five Oaks Piano Bar to show to Lisa, the bartender who was friends with Michael Sakara. She recognized Richard immediately. Every detail investigators learned about Richard fit the point.

puzzle precisely. After two weeks of compiling evidence, they felt they had enough information to interview him for at least two of the murders, those of Anthony Morrero and Thomas Mulcahy. They hoped that they could get him to confess to murdering Peter and Michael, too. On the evening of May 27, 2001, a few detectives approached Richard while he was at work, but they didn't arrest him right away. Instead, they told him he was the victim of credit card fraud and asked him to come to the station to discuss the next steps. Just after midnight, when Richard was interviewed, he was extremely polite and cooperative. He didn't seem nervous at all, at least not at first.

Things took a turn when the detectives finally dropped their bombshell. They told Richard they were actually investigating the death of four men from a few years back. Richard's demeanor changed immediately. He crossed his legs, then his arms folding in on himself. Sweat started collecting on his forehead, and he began to stammer and fidget, much like he had when he was younger. After that, the investigator showed Richard pictures of the four victims. Richard looked at all of them, shaking his head.

When he saw Michael Sakara, he said he recognized him from the Five Oaks piano bar. Richard was trying to play it cool. He didn't know that they already had evidence that tied him to the murders, so he likely hoped he could answer their questions and go on his way. However, once it dawned on Richard exactly how much trouble he was in, he changed tech and asked for a lawyer. After that, the detectives read Richard's rights and handcuffed him. Then he was sent to cool his heels in jail. With Richard behind bars, detectives obtained a warrant to search his condo. When authorities entered the home, they found it devoid of any style or personality.

The apartment was in perfect condition. Even the carpet was vacuumed in a pattern of short, neat line. It was eerie. But a closer look revealed more than just Richard's cleaning habits. In short order, they found the same kind of plastic bags that had stored so many severed body parts, and that wasn't all. Investigators also found hidden amongst Richard's belongings, a liquid sedative, commonly used as a date rape drug. Back in 1988, a man had accused Richard of drugging him, but the nurse was acquitted. Now, this discovery reinforced the victim's claims.

claims, plus it offered potential insight into how Richard could have overpowered his four murder victims. Along with some rug fibers that matched those found on one of the bodies, the police had more than enough forensic evidence. But for good measure, they also found his pile of disturbing graffiti photographs. It was a chilling discovery that only made the investigators more certain. This was the man they'd been hunting all this time. Now it was time to put him away for good. Richard's trial for the murders of Thomas Mulcahy and Anthony Marrero began in the fall of 2005, and it was a very short affair.

Richard never took the stand and chose to sit quietly during the proceedings. Meanwhile, the evidence was so overwhelming and disturbing that jurors were visibly upset. That November, Richard was found guilty of both murders and sentenced to a minimum of 65 years in prison. Given that he was 55 at the time, it was basically a lie. sentence. And there's a strange poetry to him losing his freedom so completely. Throughout his entire life, Richard Rogers seemed to only want one thing, control over his high school bullies, his grad school housemate, and eventually his various lovers. It's likely why he loved the order

of surgery, the power of murder. Simultaneously calculated and reckless, Richard followed his darkest urges that gave him the feeling of power he so desperately seemed to crave. But ironically, his inability to control those impulses is what cost him everything. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with a new episode. For more information on Richard Rogers, amongst the many sources we used, we found Last Call, a true story of love, lust, and murder in queer New York by Elon Green and Oxygen's The Mark of a Killer, the Last Call Killer, extremely helpful to our research. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all of the Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify.

We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Alex Button, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Joshua Kern. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Kit Fitzgerald, edited by Tony Goodman and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Adriana Romero, and research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood. Serial Killers stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson.

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