Rodney Troy Bixler

Serial Killer

Rodney Troy Bixler – Kentucky Serial Killer

Rodney Troy Bixler is an American serial killer, rapist, and violent offender who was convicted in connection with the murders of three women in Kentucky during 2000. His known murder victims were 67-year-old Thelma Cornett, 27-year-old Heather Wright, and 67-year-old Daisy Whitaker. All three women died by strangulation or asphyxiation, and the crimes occurred during an approximately eight-month period in Kentucky's Bluegrass region. Bixler was also investigated as a possible suspect in the drowning death of 13-year-old Stephanie Ann Claunch, although he was never charged with killing her. Bixler's eventual convictions did not come through a single prosecution. Daisy Whitaker's murder resulted in a jury conviction, while years later Bixler entered Alford pleas to the murders of Cornett and Wright. An Alford plea allowed him to maintain that he was not admitting the underlying acts while accepting convictions because prosecutors possessed sufficient evidence to potentially obtain guilty verdicts at trial.

Background and Earlier Criminal Conduct

Rodney Troy Bixler was born in September 1968 and was associated with Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. His encounters with the criminal justice system began before the murders that ultimately made him a convicted serial killer. In 1999, Bixler was tried on accusations involving the rape and sodomy of a 17-year-old girl but was acquitted. During that same period, he was convicted on charges involving misuse of an ATM card and received a jail sentence. By 2000, Bixler's criminal activity had escalated dramatically. Over the course of that year, three women were strangled, a teenage girl drowned under circumstances that later generated suspicion toward Bixler, and another woman survived a violent attack involving an attempted strangulation and a deliberately set fire. The murder cases developed separately and required several years of investigations and court proceedings before Bixler had convictions for all three confirmed killings.

Confirmed Murder Victims

• Thelma Cornett – February 4, 2000 – Lawrenceburg, Kentucky: Cornett was 67 years old when she was found dead in the bathroom of her Lawrenceburg residence on February 4, 2000. She had been strangled. Bixler was eventually indicted for her murder and, in 2008, entered an Alford plea to the charge.
• Heather Wright – October 7, 2000 – Anderson County, Kentucky: Wright was 27 years old. She was strangled, and her body was discovered in a stream or waterway leading toward the Kentucky River in Anderson County. An Anderson County grand jury later indicted Bixler for her murder. In 2008, he entered an Alford plea to Wright's murder along with the murder of Thelma Cornett.
• Daisy Whitaker – October 22, 2000 – Lawrenceburg, Kentucky: Whitaker was 67 years old and worked as a Walmart cashier. After spending the evening of October 21 with Bixler and other acquaintances, she returned toward her Lawrenceburg home with him. Her body was discovered on October 22, 2000, naked and face-down in her bathtub. An autopsy determined that she died from asphyxia caused by strangulation or suffocation. Bixler was later convicted by a jury of murdering Whitaker and stealing her vehicle.

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Confirmed Victims: (3)

Thelma Cornett Age: (67), Date of Death: 2000-02-04

Suspected Victims:

Stephanie Ann Claunch Age: (13), Date of Death: 2000-07-25

Rodney Bixler - Wikipedia