Thomas Sanders, Kidnap and Murder, Louisiana 2014

Alexandria, LA – In a shocking verdict, a federal jury in Alexandria, Louisiana, sentenced Thomas Sanders, 57, to death for the brutal kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts in the fall of 2010.

The jury returned a guilty verdict on September 8, 2014, after deliberating for about an hour, and subsequently imposed the death penalty on Sanders during the penalty phase of the trial, which began on September 16, 2014.

The evidence presented during the trial established that Sanders met Suellen Roberts, 31, in the summer of 2010, and they began dating. Sanders convinced Suellen and Lexis to go on a trip with him to a wildlife park near the Grand Canyon over the Labor Day weekend. However, as they were returning to Nevada, Sanders pulled off Interstate 40 in a remote location in the Arizona desert and fatally shot Suellen Roberts in the head, then forced Lexis into the car and kept her captive.

Sanders drove several days across the country before murdering Lexis Roberts in a wooded area in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. The evidence presented during the trial established that Sanders shot Lexis Roberts four times, cut her throat, and left her body in the woods where a hunter found it on October 8, 2010.

A nation-wide manhunt ensued, and Sanders was arrested on November 14, 2010, at a truck stop in Gulfport, Mississippi, by FBI agents and a Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputy.

During the trial, jurors heard from 18 witnesses, including members of Lexis’ family, who testified about the devastating impact of the crime on their family. The jury also heard a recorded confession from Sanders in which he admitted to killing the mother and daughter.

The death sentence is the first time the death penalty has been imposed in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.

Thomas Sanders, Kidnapping resulting in death, and Using a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death, Louisiana, 09/26/2014, Death sentence.

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