Oba Chandler was born on October 11, 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the fourth of five children to Oba Chandler Sr. and Margaret Johnson. His early life was marked by tragedy and trauma. At age ten, Chandler witnessed the aftermath of his father's suicide; his father had hanged himself in their apartment's basement in June 1957. In a disturbing scene at the funeral, Chandler leapt into his father's grave while it was being filled, an incident later cited as emblematic of his deep psychological scars.

By the age of 14, Chandler had already begun a long criminal trajectory, starting with car theft and leading to over twenty juvenile arrests. His adult criminal record included a variety of serious offenses, including burglary, kidnapping, counterfeiting, and armed robbery. He was also implicated in sexually deviant behavior, including voyeurism and suspected sexual assaults. Despite this history, Chandler managed to maintain a semblance of a normal life, working as an unlicensed aluminum-siding contractor in Florida and raising a family.

Oba Chandler started getting into trouble at a young age. By the time he was fourteen, he was already stealing cars and had been arrested twenty times as a juvenile. As an adult, he committed various crimes, including possessing counterfeit money, loitering, burglary, kidnapping, and armed robbery. He was even accused of peeping through a woman's window while masturbating. In one incident, he and an accomplice broke into a Florida couple's home, held them at gunpoint, and robbed them. Chandler ordered his accomplice to tie up the man while he took the woman into the bedroom, made her strip to her underwear, tied her up, and rubbed the barrel of his revolver across her stomach.

On May 26, 1989, Joan "Jo" Rogers, 36, and her daughters, Michelle, 17, and Christe, 14, left their family dairy farm in Willshire, Ohio, for a vacation in Florida. It was their first trip out of state. On June 1, while driving back to Ohio from Orlando, Joan got lost and decided to take an extra vacation day in Tampa. They met Chandler, who offered them directions and later suggested taking them on a sunset cruise of Tampa Bay.

The last photo taken of the Rogers family showed the sun setting over Tampa Bay from their hotel balcony. They were last seen alive at the hotel's restaurant around 7:30 p.m. It is believed they boarded Chandler's boat between 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Their bodies were discovered floating in Tampa Bay on June 4, 1989. Each body was found face down, bound with rope, and naked below the waist. Autopsies revealed they had water in their lungs, meaning they were thrown into the water alive. Michelle managed to free one hand before drowning. The ropes around their necks were tied to concrete blocks to ensure they drowned and their bodies would not surface, but decomposition caused them to float.

The case remained unsolved for over three years. A major break came when a similar rape case of a Canadian tourist was connected to Chandler. Chandler was arrested on September 24, 1992. Evidence included handwritten directions on a brochure found in the Rogers' vehicle and a description of Chandler's boat. Handwriting analysis and a palm print matched Chandler to the evidence. Local police used billboards displaying Chandler's handwriting, which led to a former neighbor identifying him.

During his trial in Clearwater, Florida, Chandler admitted to meeting the Rogers family but denied any involvement in their murders. He claimed he was fishing alone in Tampa Bay the night they died. Witnesses and physical evidence contradicted his story. Judy Blair testified that Chandler had raped her under similar circumstances two weeks before the Rogers' murders. Chandler was found guilty and sentenced to death on November 4, 1994. He maintained his innocence and continued to appeal his conviction.

Oba Chandler was executed by lethal injection on November 15, 2011. He declined to make a final statement but left a written note claiming his innocence.