Facts of the Crime:
Roderick Orme had known Ms. Redd, the victim, for a period of time prior to the offense. On March 3, 1992, Orme called Ms. Redd to Lee’s Motel where he was staying. Orme had been freebasing cocaine and was having a “bad high” so he called Ms. Redd because she was a nurse. Orme stated that Ms. Redd arrived at his hotel room sometime between 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., according to his first statement, and between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., according to his second statement. According to Orme, Ms. Redd knocked the crack pipe out of his hand, which caused the loss of his drugs. She also placed several pieces of crack into the toilet.
Orme then left, took Ms. Redd’s purse and used her car keys to drive her car to ‘go partying.’ Orme stated that he returned to the hotel a number of times and that it was still dark outside when he realized something was wrong, but he could not enter the room because he had left the motel key in the room. In both of Orme’s statements to the police, he did not admit to any part of the murder to Ms. Redd.
On the morning of March 4, 1992, Orme showed up at a recovery center in Panama City, Florida. One year prior to this date he had been treated at this same facility for an extensive substance abuse history. On this morning, Orme was disoriented and unable to respond to questions, yet he managed to write “LEE’S MOT RM15.” Orme’s face was flushed and he was displaying symptoms of delirium tremors, both of which are indicative of acute cocaine withdrawal. Orme’s blood tested positive for cocaine, and he was placed in intensive care for approximately thirty hours. Orme was also in possession of illegal barbiturates.
An individual at the recovery center placed a telephone call to Lee’s Motel and asked to have room 15 checked. When the owner of the motel checked the room, he found the body of Lisa Redd. The body had been badly beaten, and the cause of death was strangulation. Semen samples were taken. Those from the orifices of the victim’s body were not matched, but a sample from the victim’s underpants matched Orme’s DNA. Orme’s underpants had blood that matched Orme’s and the victim’s. Orme’s fingerprints were found in the motel room. His wallet was found in the victim’s car, which was parked outside the motel. On March 6, 1992, Orme was released from the hospital and then arrested.
Orme was re-sentenced to death in Bay County on July 23, 2007.
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