Oklahoma man to be executed for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter

Richard Rojem Jr., 66, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday for the 1984 rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter, Layla Cummings. Despite maintaining his innocence, Rojem has accepted his fate after exhausting all appeals.

Rojem was convicted of raping and stabbing Layla to death, leaving her body in a field. His execution will be the second in Oklahoma this year and the ninth in the U.S., following an execution in Texas just a day earlier.

Fisher stated that there is nothing more they can do legally and that Rojem is prepared to move forward. Rojem has been on death row for nearly 40 years and had previously won two appeals, even avoiding an execution date set for October 5, 2023.

As the execution date nears, reflects on the crime and the events that led to Layla’s murder. Rojem had been divorced from Layla’s mother, Mindy Cummings, for two months before the murder. He met Cummings while imprisoned in Michigan for sex offenses, where she was the sister of his cellmate. According to court records, Rojem knew Cummings’ work schedule and that the lock on her apartment door was broken.