Murdered by a Dead Man - Suellen and Lexi Roberts

Episode #30 - Suellen and Lexis Roberts

Suellen Roberts moved to Las Vegas with her 4-year-old daughter Lexis in 2001, looking for a fresh start in a place with more opportunities, just as many people do. At the time, Las Vegas was booming.

Suellen’s dad Gary only wanted the best for Lexis and Suellen, so he encouraged them to make the move, but a decade later he was plagued with guilt over their murders.

[Shaun] 

Hi and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I’m your host, Shaun, and with me as always, is the one and only John.

[John] 

I am the only John in the room.

[Shaun] 

This week we’re talking about a case that started in Las Vegas but ended up spanning most of the southern United States, ending up in Louisiana with some pretty shocking aspects. Do you want to start by telling us about Suellen and Lexis?

[John] 

Sure.

Suellen Roberts was born on March 24th, 1979 in Manchester New Hampshire to Gary Roberts and Mary Woodburn. She had one brother, Joseph, and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews, many of whom lived in her hometown of Manchester. 

When she was 18, she had her daughter Lexi and didn't end up finishing high school, but she later went back and got her GED. In 2001 when Lexi was 4, as we mentioned, Suellen decided to move to Las Vegas which was absolutely exploding with growth then. 

The Las Vegas metropolitan area grew a staggering 41.3% between 2000 and 2010 from about 1.4 million people to nearly 2 million, and as of 2024, we’re getting close to 3 million.

Her father Gary who lived here in Las Vegas, supported the move because he wanted her to be successful, both for her and for Lexi. I'm sure it was just an extra bonus to have them living nearby.

[Shaun] 

Suellen was studying “computer operation” and was very spiritual, having recently started studying Buddhism and enlightenment. She also had a great passion for the environment and preserving the Earth for future generations. She and Lexi also had a dog named Chico and a Cat named Bob, which is undeniably a great name for a cat. Suellen was working doing administrative work at a medical supply company, and things were going well.

Lexi Roberts had just started the 7th grade in 2010 at Sylvestri Middle School in the southeast part of the Las Vegas Valley, not far from where we’re recording this episode.

Lexi's 2nd-grade teacher described her as a loving and vibrant young soul. She recalled how Lexi loved telling stories and loved to write. They said that although she had struggled a bit in school with some subjects, she was very hard-working. For example, she had increased her reading level an entire grade level by participating in a tutoring program.

They also described her as innocent, shy, and vulnerable

Her aunt was quoted as saying that “bad things didn't affect her” … “she was not afraid to smile big with that mouth full of braces… she smiled big, hugged big, and loved big”. 

She encouraged Lexi to write in her journal, and Lexi once wrote that she believed that “nothing bad would ever happen to her”

There are also several accounts by Lexi’s friends recalling how silly and fun they remember her being.

She loved iCarly, her favorite color was purple, and playing the Viola, and she had just signed up for the band.

[John] 

As you’re probably aware, the US economy imploded in 2007, and the effects peaked here in Las Vegas around 2010, with the unemployment rate reaching 14.5%, the highest in the country.

Much of that had to do with Las Vegas’s job market being highly dependent on tourism and hospitality, and the fact that in a down economy, these are among the first industries to suffer and the last ones to recover.

Famously, in 2010, the president told the country not to “go and blow a bunch of money in Las Vegas” which did the hurting tourism industry here no favors.

Unfortunately, like many people  Suellen lost her job in 2010, and she was forced to move in with her mother, 

Because of this, she had to downsize and put some of her furniture in storage so she headed down to the  Pacific Mini-Storage on Pecos and Russell. 

While she was there, she met Thomas Steven Sanders, who worked at the mini storage and was about 20 years older than her. He was immediately smitten with her.

Sanders met Suellen at a time in her life when she was really at a low point. She was down on her luck, had just lost her job, and was planning to move back in with her mother, with her 12-year-old daughter at age 31.

Because of that, It was relatively easy for him to worm his way into her life very quickly.

Lexi was NOT a fan of her mom’s new boyfriend, and she made that clear.

[Shaun] 

Suellen and Steven started a whirlwind relationship pretty much right away. Sanders was constantly giving Suellen gifts, jewelry, and constant attention. It was pretty clear to Suellen’s mother that Suellen was being love-bombed though she didn't use that term.

About two months after they met, in September 2010, they decided to take a trip to Bearizona and the Grand Canyon over the long Labor Day Weekend.

If you’ve never heard of Bearizona, it’s a 160-acre wildlife park in Williams, Arizona. One of the things you can do is drive-through where you can have very close encounters with the animals who are just roaming around in their own secured areas. It’s really cool and we highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

Suellen’s mother was not a fan of this vacation idea, given that they had only started dating two months before, and as Suellen’s mother tells it, they hardly knew each other. She's been quoted as saying she didn't think Suellen should go out of state with someone she's been dating that short a period of time. She even offered to have Lexi stay with her while they went, but Suellen wasn't interested in that.

The 3 of them left for Bearizona on September 3rd, 2010 in Suellen’s 2001 Kia Spectra. On September 4th, there’s surveillance footage of them driving through Bearizona, and on September 5th they were seen at the Grand Canyon. This would be the last time that Suellen used her mobile phone.

[John] 

They were supposed to return on September 6th, but they didn't show up as expected. By Wednesday the 8th, Suellen’s mother filed a missing persons report with Las Vegas Metro. 

She told Action News 13  “It’s not like my daughter to turn cold and leave and not call me for so many days” and “I think maybe he did something to my daughter and now my granddaughter is with him alone. All I want to hear is their voices and know they’re alright.”

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) in Flagstaff was able to track them to a motel near Flagstaff, finding that they signed the motel's guest book on Saturday the 4th. After the visit to Bearizona and the Grand Canyon, their whereabouts were just unknown.

Initially, while the investigators didn't rule out possible foul play, they did allow for the possibility that Suellen and Steven just “ran off to begin a new life together” which their family dismissed as not a remote possibility. That just didn't seem reasonable to them. The search continued across several states and jurisdictions and made national news.

[Shaun] 

Authorities had no leads in the case or about what might have happened to the three of them until the investigation led them to Harrisonburg, Louisiana. 

Harrisonburg is located in Catahoula Parish in the northern part of Louisiana, about 160 miles east of Shreveport, closer to the Mississippi River, but not on the river directly.

Harrisonburg is an extremely small town. The town is about 1 square mile in area. The population is only 277 people which is less than what it was in 1850. According to census reports, the population has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years, and it’s likely to become a ghost town. 

​On October 8, 2010, a hunter stumbled upon human remains outside of this small town, along a dirt road called Boothe Cemetery Road. 

The remains were described as skeletal, and that of a female, of small stature, with long dark hair, and braces on her teeth. 

[John] 

The remains recovered did not match any missing persons description in the area so In order to identify who this young woman or girl was, the investigators had the remains taken to the Louisiana State University FACES lab. That’s the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services - laboratory, where forensic anthropologists use tools such as DNA analysis and facial reconstruction to identify John and Jane Does. 

The Director at that time was Mary Manhein, who founded the FACES lab. 

According to reporting in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, her team was extremely moved by this case in particular, and they were determined to identify her. 

Since the skeleton had braces on her teeth, and was obviously a young girl, the team really connected with solving the case. 

Based on the braces, the lab team estimated the girl was between 12 and 16 years old. They consulted with an orthodontist in New Orleans and they were able to narrow her age down to about 13 years old. 

While that was helpful, the lab was still unable to identify the girl, and the police still had no leads on her identity. Mainhein was well aware that solving the case depended on being able to have accurate information made available to investigators as quickly as possible. 

She is quoted as saying that her team does not normally “play detective” but they were so struck by the case that they were willing to use every tool at their disposal. 

On October 25, Mary Manhein told her team, "We are identifying this girl today." They expanded their search and searched the internet for cases of missing 13-year-old girls and quickly zeroed in on Lexi’s case.

Mary reached out to the detective investigating Lexi’s missing person case in Arizona, and he sent the lab a copy of Lexi’s dental records.

The lab was able to match those records to the remains in just 9 hours. Mary had said that going from having “no clue” in the afternoon to having a positive identification by the next day was an extremely rare thing. 

[Shaun] 

Lexi’s cause of death was quickly ruled a homicide. She had been shot four times, and her throat had been cut with such extreme and violent force, that it left marks on her cervical vertebrae. 

Suellen was still missing, but the horrific realization that Lexi was dead turned the missing person search into a nationwide manhunt for Sanders.

Numerous investigative agencies were involved in the case, including the Louisiana State Police, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, as well as additional law enforcement agencies throughout the country. 

As they began to dig into Thomas Steven Sanders's past, they discovered something truly shocking. He had been declared dead in 1994. 

In the 1980s, Sanders was living in Mississippi. He married a woman named Candace, and the two of them had 3 sons together. In 1988, Candace divorced him for QUOTE "habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment,” or as I would put it – abuse.

But after that, Sanders just disappeared from her life. He just walked away. 

His mom, his kids, and his ex never heard from him at all for years. In 1994, they petitioned to have him declared legally dead so that his sons could collect his social security benefits. It wasn’t until Lexis and Suellen disappeared that his mom, ex-wife, and kids knew he was still alive. 

As part of the investigation, the FBI went to Candace’s house in Mississippi, and her new husband, Paul Tarver told the press, "I don't know why they came here looking for him," "He shows up on my doorstep, he's a dead man. He abandoned three kids, in my eyes."

This raises questions about How was Sanders able to remain “dead” for 15 years, without ever being detected. Especially when he had more than a few brushes with the law in that time, and he had even gotten married again and divorced again. 

Investigators determined a lot of that was due to Sanders's lifestyle. He lived off the grid – he dealt in cash, and he would sometimes give his name as Steve or just his nickname, Spider. He was a drifter, traveling around a lot and just staying under the radar. 

He lived in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Nevada. He worked as a laborer, a welder, and a scrap metal collector. 

We mentioned earlier that he was working at the storage place when he met Suellen. There is some reporting that he was actually residing there as well. 

Sanders wasn’t buying property, or applying for loans; he wasn’t collecting social security. There wasn’t a way to search and determine that he had been declared legally dead. 

He himself may not have even known that he was legally dead. Time Magazine called him a “legal zombie.” 

It is truly shocking that he was able to go undetected and remain “missing” since he had been arrested under his true legal name multiple times for drug crimes and motor vehicle accidents, and he’d even been incarcerated for two years in Georgia for a battery charge. 

Law enforcement stated that some of his past crimes did involve minors, but any reporting we uncovered noted that the authorities would not release details about those charges. 

[John] 

The FBI issued a warrant for Sanders for the kidnapping of Lexis. That’s probably going to sound weird to a lot of people, and I can see why. What you should know is that since Sanders kidnapped Lexi and crossed state lines with her, the crime becomes chargeable under the US Federal Penal Code.. It became a federal crime. 

Under the federal kidnapping statute, the sentence can be as severe as life in prison or even the death penalty if the kidnapping results in “the death of any person”. Murder is rarely prosecuted as a federal crime unless the victim is a government official of some kind.

It was also clear at this point that Suellen was in extreme danger, and the FBI had no way to locate her. As we said, since the case spanned several states, several state law enforcement agencies were involved, and the crime was featured on America’s Most Wanted on November 13th, 2010, resulting a a good number of tips coming into the FBI Tip Line.

One of the tips indicated that Sanders was in the Gulf Coast, and finally, they received a tip that he was in a Flying J Truck Stop in Gulfport Mississippi. The FBI acted quickly and was able to apprehend him there the very next day, on November 14th.

Sanders was alone, unarmed, and he was driving Suellen’s Kia Spectra. The FBI reported that when he was caught he told them “‘I’m surprised it took you so long to find me.” 

In the interrogation that followed, Sanders was strangely helpful to the FBI, confessing to the crime

[Shaun]

His confession and his detailed description of the crime were chilling. He recounted to the authorities that after they visited Bearizona and the Grand Canyon, on September 8th, he pulled off of Interstate 40 in a remote location in the Arizona desert so that Suellen could “try shooting his gun”. 

As Lexis was sitting on a blanket a few feet away, Sanders shot Suellen in the head, leaving her body where it fell, forcing Lexis back into the car, and started driving. The horror Lexis must have felt must have been unimaginable. In the trial, he is quoted as saying “I just shot her. I didn’t know what to do after that”

We’re not sure exactly how long he was driving, and during the trial, his lawyer said that he wasn’t sleeping, and didn't know where he was trying to go.

Initially, he said he wanted to go to New Jersey but ended up in Northern Louisiana. 

At some point though, just a few days after murdering Suellen in cold blood, he pulled the car over in Harrisonburg, Louisiana, and shot 12-year-old Lexis three times in the head, and once in the chest, and then slit her throat. As we said, hunters would stumble across her body a few weeks later.

The FBI investigators told him that her body had decomposed where he left her, and weirdly Sanders said: “She didn't deserve that”. 

Sanders disclosed the location of Suellen’s body, and they recovered it on November 15th, just a day after he was arrested.

[John]

On November 18th, a grand jury indicted Sanders on one count of kidnapping Lexis Roberts. There was some discussion of Sanders being charged with first-degree murder in Louisiana, or for the murder of Suellen in Arizona, but the decision was made to go with the federal kidnapping charge.

We’ll talk more about our thoughts on this in our Swing Shift Episode right after this.. So make sure to subscribe today so you can hear that.. Just visit sinspod.co/subscribe

[Shaun] 

Sanders could have been charged and tried in numerous jurisdictions for the many crimes he committed across multiple states. He was charged federally with one charge of kidnapping resulting in death for Lexis’s murder, and an additional charge of using a firearm in a violent crime.

The government announced they would seek the death penalty. 

His trial began in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The first phase of the trial, the guilt phase began on September 3, 2011, approximately one year after the crimes took place. 

The prosecution’s case focused on the fact that Sanders had confessed on tape to killing Lexis and Suellen. They also had surveillance footage from a Walmart in Las Vegas, where Sanders was seen purchasing ammunition that was the same caliber used in Lexis’s murder, on the same day the 3 left for their Labor Day road trip. 

Pages of Lexis’ journals were also read during this phase to emphasize her innocence and vulnerability. 

Sanders was represented by Christie Gibbens. She stated QUOTE, “We agree with the government on almost all of the facts,” and that Sanders “accepts full responsibility for the death of Lexis Roberts. 

Gibbens’ strategy was largely to introduce factors showing that Sanders either wasn’t culpable or shouldn’t be given the death penalty as he was a victim of childhood abuse and neglect and that he had suffered from brain damage. She also argued that he should not have been tried in federal court, but should have been charged in local courts. 

She claimed that Sanders was in love with Suellen. She claimed he himself didn’t know why he had shot her – he had said, "I just shot her. I didn't know what to do after that."

[John] 

The trial lasted 5 days, and after just one hour of deliberation, the jury found Sanders guilty of both one count of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death. 

US Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said,  “This is a heartbreaking case. A young girl witnessed the murder of her mother, was held captive for days, and had her life cut tragically short by a senseless, brutal murder. We hope today’s verdict will help Lexis’s family as they continue to struggle with the loss of their loved ones.”

The next phase of the trial was the penalty phase. Sanders had made it clear that he wanted the death penalty. 

Both the prosecution and the defense presented evidence regarding the sentence. 

During this phase, some pretty horrifying things came out about Sanders's past. 

One of the main witnesses for Sanders was his mother, Mary Sue Boothe. She testified about his family’s history. His paternal grandmother was an orphan, who had married her first cousin. 

His maternal grandfather was born out of wedlock from an affair between two cousins. As a result, his grandfather did not have any inheritance and was poorer than the other family members. 

His mother described her own traumatic childhood. She was one of 11 children and grew up in extreme poverty. They didn’t have any electricity or running water. This was in the 1940s and 50s. 

She and her siblings had been put to work to earn money while they were still in grade school. They performed hard labor tasks such as cotton picking and commercial fishing, and as a result, they did not attend school. 

She never saw a doctor and her family relied on home remedies, including using kerosene. 

She ended up running away from home at the age of 16. She became pregnant with Sanders, and gave birth to him when she was just 18. 

Thomas Sanders suffered a severe head injury when he was 3 years old. According to Mary Sue, the injury was so severe that Sanders had to relearn how to walk and talk. 

His father was Edward Kilby Sanders. He’s been described as a suicidal alcoholic. Edward Sanders was paralyzed as a result of a drunk driving accident and committed suicide in 2005, after being paralyzed for years.

He was buried in Mary Sue’s family cemetery. As we said, Mary Sue’s maiden name was Boothe, as in Boothe Cemetery Road, which is the plot of land where Sanders killed Lexis and left her body. 

[Shaun] 

The jury was given a long document to complete in order to determine if Sanders would be given the death penalty. 

There were 106 mitigating factors brought forth by the defense. Many of these questions related to Sanders’ brain damage and his mental health. None of the jurors determined that Sanders was mentally ill, either before, during, or after Suellen was murdered or Lexis’s kidnapping and murder. 

They all did agree that his life had value and that he had shown kindness during his life. However, after 7 hours of deliberation, they ultimately found that he had premeditated the murders of Suellen and Lexis, and that he had no remorse. 

The jury unanimously voted to impose the death penalty. 

He did try to appeal the verdict in 2020, based on arguments that there should have been a competency hearing before the trial even began. His attorney argued that Sanders has brain damage and is mentally ill. She even included the fact that he believes he is descended from space aliens.

Despite the evidence of his childhood injuries and his delusions, his conviction and sentence were not overturned. 

Thomas Steven Sanders is still alive at age 67. He’s currently on death row in Terre Haute, Indiana. (list prison here)

In July of 2021, the United States halted executions. It’s unclear at this point when and if his sentence will be carried out. 

[John] 

Lexi and Suellen’s families still deal with the pain of losing them. Suellen’s father, who encouraged her to move to Las Vegas, continued to struggle with his guilt over that, blaming himself for what happened to them. 

Suellen’s mother, Mary told KTNV News: It's beyond words. There are no words for it at all...I warned her to not go out of state with this person, to check his background. You don't know anything about him. I was just concerned...this is really difficult. I'll always have an empty spot in my heart. And my heart is just like it's ripped out."

[Shaun] 

This case is profoundly sad, and we’re just heartbroken to talk about the death of a girl and mom from our community. This is another story of a man preying upon a vulnerable family, and is such a senseless horrific crime. I’m so very thankful for the hard work of the team at the FACES lab for being able to identify Lexi. It’s unclear if her grandparents and family ever would have had answers if they hadn’t been able to identify her. 

[John]

As I mentioned earlier, Shaun and I are going to continue this conversation in our Swing Shift episode, and you need to be a subscriber to hear that so head over to our sinspod.co/patreon  or sinspod.co/apple to subscribe. 

[Shaun]

If you have a case that you’d like us to cover please send us a message on Instagram at sinsandsurvivors. 

Thank you as always for listening and supporting the show and remember what happens here, happens everywhere.