Authorities have identified the remains of a suspected eighth victim of serial killer Dayton Leroy Rogers.
Dayton Leroy Rogers (born September 30, 1953), dubbed the “Molalla Forest Murderer,” was convicted in seven murders, and currently resides at the Oregon State Penitentiary.
He was convicted in 1988 for the 1987 murder of his final victim, Jennifer Lisa Smith, in a Clackamas County parking lot.
He was also convicted in 1989 for the murders of Lisa Marie Mock, 23; Maureen Ann Hodges, 26; Christine Lotus Adams, 35; Cynthia Devore, 20; Nondace Cervantes, 26; and Riatha Gyles, 16. These victims’ bodies were found at a Molalla dump site in 1987; a seventh body found at the site was unidentified until now.
Through analysis of DNA samples, the seventh body found at the Molalla dump site — and the eighth victim of Dayton Leroy Rogers — was recently identified as Tawnia Jarie Johnson. She was 18 years old at the time of her death.
Tawnia Jarie Johnson’s family asks for privacy at this time, and does NOT want to be contacted by the media. As this is an open case no further information is available at this time.
ADDITIONAL TIPS SOUGHT
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information relating to 18-year-old Tawnia Jarie Johnson’s arrival in the Portland area in the spring of 1987 is urged to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line — by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online email form at http://www.clackamas.us/sheriff/forms/tip.html . Please reference CCSO Case # 87-50000.
