Roderick Rankin was sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas for three murders. According to court documents Roderick Rankin would murder his ex girlfriend sister, her mother and stepfather for ending their relationship. Roderick Rankin would be convicted and sentenced to death.
Arkansas Death Row Inmate List
Roderick Rankin 2021 Information
ADC Number 000939
Name:Rankin, Roderick L
Race BLACK Sex MALE Hair Color BLACK Eye Color BROWN Height73 inches Weight 329 lbs.
Birth Date 11/18/1975 Initial Receipt Date 02/13/1996
Facility Varner Supermax
Roderick Rankin More News
The facts surrounding this case are laid out in detail in Rankin I. The murders occurred in the early morning hours of December 27, 1994. Based on the statement of Mr. Rankin’s girlfriend, Sonyae Reynolds 1 , who was hiding in a closet at the victims’ home during the attack, Mr. Rankin became the prime suspect in the murders. According to Ms. Reynolds, Mr. Rankin had repeatedly threatened to kill her and her family if she left him. Moreover, she believed the assailant was Mr. Rankin because the assailant was wearing clothing similar to clothing worn by Mr. Rankin. During the police interrogation, the investigating officers asked Mr. Rankin if he had kicked in the door of the victims’ house and shot the victims. They also asked him if he had experienced problems with Sonyae Reynolds; whether such problems led him to commit the murders; whether he was wearing blue shoes on the morning of the murders; and whether he had seen blood on the shoes. Finally, they asked him whether the gun that they had shown him was the murder weapon and whether he placed it at the location where it was discovered. Mr. Rankin’s response to each of these questions was a simple, “Yes, sir.” He told the officers that he saw Zena Reynolds and her children on the couch when he first entered the house. It was at this point that he started shooting. According to Mr. Rankin, he shot Zena Reynolds first and then shot Ernestine Halford and Nathaniel Halford. Although Mr. Rankin knew Sonyae Reynolds was also in the house, he got scared and left.
The jury convicted Mr. Rankin of three counts of capital murder.