Dayton Leroy Rogers was born on September 30, 1953, in Moscow, Idaho.

Dayton Leroy Rogers was a serial killer who committed multiple murders in Oregon during the 1980s. He was convicted in 1988 for murdering Jennifer Lisa Smith on August 7, 1987. This murder happened in a truck parked off SE McLoughlin Blvd in Oak Grove. Rogers stabbed Smith 11 times. After being attacked, she fell out of the truck. Witnesses from a nearby Denny's restaurant tried to help her, but she later died in the hospital. A witness who saw the incident called the police.

After the attack, several witnesses attempted to block Rogers' vehicle in the parking lot. He drove over landscaping and sped away. One witness followed him at high speeds for several miles. They reported Rogers' location to the police, which helped in his capture.

Rogers had a pattern of picking up prostitutes and taking them to forested areas where he would kill them. He was tied to at least six murders, with the bodies often found in a dumping site outside Molalla, Oregon. He was also found guilty of murdering six women: Lisa Marie Mock, Maureen Ann Hodges, Christine Lotus Adams, Cynthia De Vore, Nondace "Noni" Cervantes, and Riatha Gyles. Their ages ranged from 16 to 35.

Rogers faced multiple trials and was sentenced to death three times, but the Oregon Supreme Court overturned these sentences each time. Finally, in November 2015, he was sentenced to death for the fourth time. His legal team mentioned that he was willing to give up future appeals in exchange for a life sentence.

In November 2021, his death sentence was overturned again due to a new law that changed the requirements for seeking the death penalty. On December 13, 2022, Governor Kate Brown commuted all death sentences in Oregon to life without parole. Presently, Rogers is serving his sentence at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla.