#jaden murphy

November 25, 1996. 

Everything seemed normal; a quiet night, a quiet home. Jennifer Wendorf, 17, had been out much later than she was supposed to. Hurriedly, but quietly, she made her way home and stepped inside. Her eyes landed on her father, Richard Wendorf, lying on the couch and a wave of relief washed over her. She had made it, she thought. She wasn’t caught. Then she made her way into the kitchen. The relief she just previously felt shot out of her body like a wave of electricity. 

Blood pooled on the tile around the lifeless body of her mother, Naomi Ruth Queen (Wendorf). As she glanced around the room, she noticed blood had not only covered a large portion of the kitchen floor, but also splattered just about everywhere else: on the walls, and even the ceiling. Panicking, she ran back out to check on her father. He was dead too, blood soaking the arm of the couch beneath his bludgeoned head. Jennifer immediately called 9-1-1, explaining to dispatch that both of her parents had been killed and that her 15 year old younger sister, Heather Wendorf, was missing.

The police were stumped. Who could’ve done this? Where was Heather? Had she been kidnapped? Had she been murdered as well?

Heather had always been the black sheep of the family. She had a dark side, and often expressed herself in outlandish, odd ways. One witness account states they had seen Heather attend high school with a Barbie doll attached to her backpack by a noose around its neck. In weeks leading up to the deaths, Naomi had mentioned to her daughter Jennifer that Heather’s behavior had become uncontrollable and unbearable. 

When asked if she had any idea who could’ve been behind the gruesome murder of her parents, Jennifer was quick to answer: Rod Ferrell and Scott Anderson.

Roderrick Justin ‘Rod’ Ferrell, (pictured below) born March 28, 1980, grew up in Murray Kentucky and spent most of his adolescence as an outsider, someone who didn’t fit in and didn’t belong. Before being forced to move to Eustis, Florida, Rod had been introduced to the lifestyle that was referred to as ‘vampirism’ by Jaden Murphy. This was described as the act of consuming human blood as a means to gain immortality, or extra lives. It was believed that once you consumed the blood of a known vampire, you also became one, and was initiated into the family or ‘clan.’ Jaden recalls that just before his move, Rod’s personality had taken a sharp turn, often describing fantasies of killing someone and even throwing a stray cat up against a tree during a hangout between the two. 

In Eustis, Rod came in contact with Heather Wendorf and Scott Anderson through high school and he immediately took a liking to Heather specifically. He saw her as a damsel in distress for him to rescue and save. She often detailed accounts of abuse at the hands of her parents to him in letters and extensive phone calls. Rod was charismatic, mysterious, and thoroughly manipulative. He had a hold on everyone he seemed to come into contact with. Him, Heather, Scott and two other females, Charity Keesee and Dana Cooper, quickly became a small little family. Rod had suckered each of them into his vampiristic fantasy. He claims to have cut himself and shared his blood with others, in hopes of creating a clan that followed and worshiped at his feet. He fed off of feeling invincible and other-worldly. 

Rod had created a brand new vampire persona for himself, going by the name of Vesago (which is presumably a butchery of the name of the demon in Occult literature, Vassago.) This demon was said to be third-in-command of the spirits of Satan’s army of rebel angels, and held special powers such as fortune-telling.

Rod truly believed he was a vampire, convinced he was 500 years old with mystic powers. As he learned of the abuse heather supposedly suffered, he grew angrier and angrier, insistent on rescuing her somehow. 

On the night of November 25, Heather and the two other females headed off on the own while Rod and Scott decided to make their way to the Wendorf residence. Both teenage boys entered the house through the garage, where rod stumbled upon a crowbar and quickly grabbed it. “We walked in as if we owned the place,” Scott recounts. They first came across Richard, who had been asleep on the couch. To Scott’s utter disbelief, Rod approached the father and lifted the crowbar high, swinging it down into his head multiple times and without mercy. 

“I just remember yelling, ‘what the hell are you doing!’ And Rod turned to me and yelled back ‘what are you doing, dude?! Why are you standing there? Find the money, find the car keys!’ “ said Scott. 

After Rod had killed Richard, Naomi had come running from the kitchen. When faced with Rob, she tossed a hot cup of coffee into his face and attempted to run away. But Rob was too fast, knocked her to floor, and proceeded to bash her head in with the crowbar as well. Scott was shocked and terrified, knowing that if he didn’t comply with Rod and his commands, he’d probably get his head bashed as well. 

“When he turned and looked at me, I didn’t recognize him. Probably the most frightening look I’ve ever seen on anyone’s face. It was like...seeing the devil himself.”

Fight or flight kicked in and both of them knew they had to get as far away as possible. The stole the family car, switched licence plates, picked up the girls including Heather, and headed off on the road. Heather initially seemed devastated after learning the news of her parents’ deaths from Rob, but Scott had his suspicions that she knew all along what was going to/what had happened. After a few days on the road, Charity began to run out of money and attempted to call her mother in hopes of her sending some. Her grandmother answered instead, and relayed the location of the payphone back to the police. 

Now in Baton Rouge,  Louisiana, the group had planned to hunker down in a nearby motel. The police convinced Charity’s grandmother to call her back and tell her she would send money in order to get their location. But instead of money, they would be faced with police, investigators, and a SWAT team. All five teenagers surrendered themselves into custody that night. While in court and on trial for first degree murder, burglary and trespassing charges, Rod would make a spectacle of himself, making faces and having wild, unruly long hair. All four members of the ‘vampire clan’ were tried as adults, despite all being 16 years of age. 

The court had tried for the death penalty for Rob, for which he was initially convicted, but after pleading guilty, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 

Howard Scott Anderson was also sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He is currently rumored to be released in 2030, at the age of 51. 

Charity Keesee was convicted of two counts of third degree murder, robbery with a gun or deadly weapon, armed burglary with a weapon or deadly explosives, and sentenced to 10.5 years in prison, while Dana Cooper was convicted of the same charges but given 17.5 years in prison. 

Heather Wendorf was not convicted or charged in the murder of her parents, and was set free. 

Rod Ferrell’s friendship with Jaden Murphy