Richard Norman Rojem Jr. was an Oklahoma native who came to national attention following one of the state’s most notorious child murder cases. Public records reveal little about his early life before 1984, but he was known to be living in western Oklahoma around the time of his arrest. Rojem’s background included a history of troubled behavior and a pattern of violent tendencies, which would later be reflected during his incarceration.

Before the murder of his stepdaughter, 7-year-old Layla Cummings, Rojem was already separated from Layla’s mother. Despite that separation, Layla was in proximity to Rojem when she was abducted and killed. Those who knew him described him as controlling, manipulative, and prone to violent outbursts. By the time of his arrest, Rojem was 26 years old and already viewed by law enforcement as a dangerous and volatile individual.

Following his arrest, Rojem spent the next four decades on death row, becoming one of Oklahoma’s longest-serving condemned inmates. His time in prison was marked by a record of misconduct, violent confrontations with prison staff, and possession of contraband weapons. He was disciplined on several occasions for assault and defiant behavior, reinforcing his reputation as one of the more problematic inmates on Oklahoma’s death row.

In 1987, while incarcerated, Rojem became linked to another death row case when he was suspected of hiring hitmen to kill witnesses in the murder trial of fellow inmate Bigler Stouffer. Rojem was not charged in that conspiracy after agreeing to testify against Stouffer, who was later executed in 2021.

On July 28, 1984, Richard Rojem was formally charged in Beckham County, Oklahoma, for the abduction, rape, and murder of 7-year-old Layla Cummings, his stepdaughter. The young girl was reported missing after spending time with Rojem. Her body was later found, confirming she had been sexually assaulted and murdered.

The brutality of the crime shocked the local community. Prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty, citing the heinous nature of the crime and the victim’s young age. Rojem was remanded without bail to the Beckham County Jail and awaited trial.

His jury trial began in Washita County District Court, where evidence linked him to the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the child. On June 1, 1985, after just 45 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Rojem guilty on all counts. The same jury sentenced him to 1,000 years each for the kidnapping and rape charges and imposed the death penalty for the murder. His formal sentencing took place on July 11, 1985.

Rojem appealed the verdict, but on March 23, 1988, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and death sentence by a 2–1 majority. However, nearly 15 years later, in 2001, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his death sentence, ruling that the original jury had been misdirected and was not properly instructed on how to weigh mitigating factors.

A new sentencing trial was ordered, and prosecutors again pursued the death penalty. In 2003, after DNA testing confirmed his involvement, Rojem was sentenced to death for a second time. However, that sentence was also vacated in 2006 due to procedural errors, including juror dismissal issues. A third re-sentencing trial took place in May 2007, and that same year, Rojem was sentenced to death for the third and final time.

Subsequent appeals failed. In 2009, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reaffirmed the death sentence, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear further appeals in 2010. By 2017, Rojem became the 16th death row inmate in Oklahoma to exhaust all possible appeals.

Despite his continued assertions of innocence, his case remained largely uncontested by the courts. In 2022, following a review of Oklahoma’s execution protocol, Rojem was placed among 25 inmates scheduled for execution. His initial date of October 5, 2023, was delayed due to scheduling issues. Finally, in May 2024, a new warrant set his execution for June 27, 2024.

In June 2024, Rojem appeared before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board seeking clemency. He continued to deny responsibility for the crime and asked that his sentence be commuted to life imprisonment without parole. Layla Cummings’ family members strongly opposed clemency, expressing their enduring grief and desire for closure. The board voted 5–0 against recommending clemency on June 18, 2024, and Attorney General Gentner Drummond publicly supported the decision, describing Rojem as “a monster who savagely raped and murdered an innocent child.”

On the morning of June 27, 2024, nearly 40 years after the murder, 66-year-old Richard Norman Rojem Jr. was executed by lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary. When asked for final words, he simply replied, “I don’t. I’ve said my goodbyes.” He was pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. after receiving a single dose of midazolam and two other sedative drugs. His execution was the 13th in Oklahoma since the state resumed executions in 2021.

His last meal consisted of a Little Caesars pizza with double cheese and double pepperoni, eight salt packets, eight crushed red pepper packets, a bottle of ginger ale, and two vanilla ice cream cups.

At the time of his death, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections confirmed that Rojem was the longest-serving inmate on Oklahoma’s death row, having spent nearly four decades under a death sentence.