A Louisiana prosecutor has announced plans to pursue the death penalty against Thomas Steven Sanders, 67, who was convicted of killing a Las Vegas woman and her 12-year-old daughter in 2010. This decision comes after Sanders, who confessed to the crimes, had his federal death sentence commuted by then-President Joe Biden during Biden’s last weeks in office.
Bradley Burget, the district attorney of Catahoula Parish, conveyed his confidence in the case during an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He stated that he believes a jury will likely return a verdict in favor of the death penalty for Sanders, who is currently serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Burget expressed his disappointment regarding Biden’s decision to commute Sanders’ sentence, especially considering the brutality of the crimes. “Initially, I was disappointed in President Biden’s decision to commute the sentence of Mr. Sanders,” Burget said.
Since taking office in 2009, Burget had relied on the federal government to handle Sanders’ prosecution at the time, but he has since gathered extensive information from local authorities and the federal trial transcripts to present to the grand jury.
During a federal trial in September 2014, Sanders admitted to the murders, leading to convictions for kidnapping leading to death and using a firearm during a violent crime resulting in death.
The tragic events of this case unfolded tragically; while on a return trip from the Grand Canyon, Sanders shot Suellen Roberts, 31, on the side of Interstate 40, with her daughter, Lexis Roberts, witnessing the attack. After the shooting, Sanders kidnapped Lexis and transported her across several states before ultimately killing her and discarding her body in Louisiana.
“He shot the child four times and also cut her throat so severely that it left cut marks on her vertebrae,” Burget detailed about the brutal nature of Lexis’ death. “This child endured a very brutal death.”
In Louisiana, first-degree murder can result in either a life sentence or the death penalty, and Burget signaled that pursuing the latter was appropriate given the evidence against Sanders. “As far as Mr. Sanders’ guilt, it’s overwhelming. Mr. Sanders is definitely guilty of the crime. He confessed to it, and there’s DNA that links him to the crime,” he stated firmly.
On October 8, 2010, hunters discovered Lexis Roberts’ body in a remote area of Catahoula Parish. Sanders was subsequently arrested on November 14, 2010, at a truck stop in Gulfport, Mississippi, where he was found driving the car belonging to Suellen Roberts.
The case took on an unusual twist when it was revealed that Sanders had been declared legally dead in 1994. His family had petitioned a Mississippi court for this death declaration, citing years of no contact with him.
In recent media coverage of the grand jury’s decision, some reports have politicized the situation. However, Burget emphasized that politics played no role in his decision to seek the death penalty.
“At the end of the day, you have a person who killed a child. It was a very brutal crime,” he stated. “I think the only appropriate punishment for that is the death penalty, but it will ultimately be up to a jury.”
As the legal proceedings unfold, Burget reiterated his commitment to seeking justice for Lexis Roberts, stressing the gravity of the actions committed by Sanders against an innocent child and her mother.
image source from：https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/death-penalty-sought-for-las-vegas-girls-killer-after-biden-commuted-sentence-3354041/
