A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story is yet another Lifetime original "Ripped from the Headlines" movie, but how much of it is true?
Summary
- "A Rose for Her Grave" is a chilling Lifetime movie based on a true story, adapted from Ann Rule's book about the real-life crimes of Randy Roth.
- The lead cast delivers exceptional performances, with Chrishell Stause and Colin Egglesfield capturing the sinister nature of the characters.
- Randy Roth's crimes involved suspicious deaths of his wives, with evidence pointing to insurance fraud as the motive, and he is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence.
The Lifetime original movie A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story is yet another of the network's "Ripped from the Headlines" films, but how much of it is true? Released in 2023, the made-for-TV movie follows Lori (Chrishell Stause) a woman determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of her best friend Cindy (Laura Ramsay) and she suspects Cindy's husband Randy (Colin Egglesfield) has something to do with it. In keeping with Lifetime's tradition of love-gone-bad stories, A Rose for Her Grave is a creepy and sinister tale all about the dark side of marital bliss with a fair amount of mystery thrown in as well.
Far exceeding its made-for-TV limitations, A Rose for Her Grave mostly shines because of the stellar performances of the lead cast, and it earned a respectable 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Chrishell Stause is best known for her reality series Selling Sunset, but her turn as an actor was quite convincing. Similarly, Colin Egglesfield was perfectly cast as the sinister husband, a role that isn't always easy to play. The accuracy of Lifetime original movies is usually hit or miss, but the terrifying and plausible nature of A Rose for Her Grave had many wondering just how real Randy Roth really was.
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Despite its salacious nature and the many twists and turns found in the plot, A Rose for Her Grave is based on a real story, and conforms with the facts of the case quite closely. The narrative was lifted straight from the book of the same name by author Ann Rule, and the true crime legend had a front-row seat for the proceedings in the Randy Roth case since it took place in her backyard of the Pacific Northwest. The movie keeps the names consistent as well, which makes for an even more eerie viewing experience, with the knowledge that the movie is based on reality.
Who Is Randy Roth
Though the film's main character, Lori, is the star of the show, real-life criminal and murderer Randy Roth is the actual focus of the story, and it is his horrible crimes that inspired the story. According to Ann Rule's A Rose for Her Grave, Roth was born in Bismarck, North Dakota in 1954 and moved with his family to Washington state in 1958. Roth joined the Marines in 1973 but was disappointed when he spent his entire time in the service as a file clerk and didn't see action at the height of the Vietnam War. After his service, Roth was briefly married to his first wife, Donna Sanchez, with whom he had one child, but the couple were soon divorced.
Roth’s Second Wife Died Under Mysterious Circumstances
A Rose for Her Grave is one of the actually good Lifetime original movies because it cleverly truncated the long and complicated story of Randy Roth into a more digestible story. However, in real life, Roth's story was anything but simple, and he quickly remarried after his divorce from his first wife. Roth's second wife, Janis Roth, married Randy in 1981, but their marital bliss would be extremely short-lived. According to The Seattle Times, on the day after Thanksgiving in 1981, Randy and Janis went for a hike at Beacon Rock in Skamania County, Washington, where Randy's new bride tragically fell to her death.
Roth was the only witness to his wife's death, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the fall did raise some suspicions. Though it was determined at the time that Janis couldn't possibly have fallen from that location on her own, police had insufficient evidence to determine that the death was anything but accidental. Roth, now a widower, would go on to marry once again, but his third marriage would also end in a hasty divorce.
Roth’s Was Arrested For The Murder Of His Fourth Wife
Following his ill-fated third marriage, Randy Roth would stay single for quite some time before he met single mother Cynthia Baumgartner in 1991. According to Ann Rule in A Rose for Her Grave, Cynthia had second thoughts about her hasty marriage to Randy, and he misrepresented his past to her because she previously had no interest in marrying a divorced man. As noted by The Seattle Times, Randy was abusive with Cynthia's two sons, and that was a cause for concern to Cynthia's best friend Lori Baker.
Unfortunately, things would once again take a turn for the tragic as Cynthia would suddenly drown in a boating accident at Washington's Lake Sammamish during a summer excursion with Randy and the kids. As noted in Rule's classic true crime book, Randy was again the only witness in Cynthia's drowning and authorities noted the odd way that he acted on the scene. However, there was no evidence at the time to support foul play, and Randy Roth spent the following three months believing he was a free man. Then on October 8th, Roth was arrested by authorities and charged with murder in the death of Cynthia Roth.
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In a stunning piece written by The Seattle Times in 1992, authorities recounted the methodical way in which they built their case against the suspected serial murderer. The crux of the police investigation came down to Randy Roth's suspicious insurance claims and the obvious financial motive he would have for murdering Cynthia Roth. Shortly before her death, Roth had taken out a sizable insurance policy on Cynthia and he was the benefactor. Digging into his past, authorities discovered he had also made a significant amount of money off of the death of his second wife, and the bulk of Roth's income came from fraudulent insurance claims.
Lori Baker’s Involvement
Though authorities did most of the legwork in the case, Cynthia Roth's best friend Lori Baker was also crucial in helping to bring down Randy Roth. Played in the movie by reality TV star and actor Crishell Stause, Lori was extremely close with Cynthia for years before her marriage to Randy Roth, and she was suspicious of Cynthia's new husband from day one. After Cynthia's death, it was discovered that her will had gone missing along with several other key documents which once again put suspicion on Randy (via The Seattle Times). Without a proper will, Randy planned to adopt Cynthia's two children and collect their survivor's benefits.
However, a second copy of the will was discovered which actually passed sole custody of Cynthia's children to Lori which threw a wrench in Randy's sinister money-making scheme. Lori would then take custody of the children and proceeded to raise them as her own, helping Cynthia's sons through the troubling trial which dredged up the pain of their recent loss.
Roth Was Convicted Of Murder
Despite an attempt by Randy Roth's defense to have the entire case thrown out (via The Seattle Times), the murder trial went before the judge in early 1992. Though the defense tried to paint Roth as a sympathetic figure who had tragically lost two wives in strange and unrelated accidents, the prosecution was able to assemble an airtight case using professional testimony. As reported by The Seattle Times, a scuba instructor testified to providing training for Roth which backed up the discovery of a wetsuit that contradicted Roth's claims of being a weak swimmer. Additionally, eyewitness testimony at the beach poked holes in Roth's claim that the raft tipped over.
Finally, Roth himself took the stand and delivered over 20 hours of testimony, in which he was forced to fess up to many of his lies regarding his service in Vietnam, which further weakened his standing. Additionally, as noted by The Seattle Times, Roth's clinical and detached demeanor was inconsistent with a grieving widower. Ultimately, the jury deliberated for eight hours before finding Roth guilty of the murder of Cynthia Ross. He was sentenced to a 50-year prison term for his crimes with eligibility for parole in 2029.
Where Is Randy Roth Now?
Since his conviction, Roth has remained an incarcerated prisoner at Washington state's Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen. In 1994, Roth's appeal on his conviction was denied (via The Seattle Times), and he would eventually be the subject of Ann Rule's A Rose for Her Grave. Unfortunately, though he was convicted of the murder of Cynthia Roth, authorities chose not to pursue charges in the death of Janis Roth, and justice will likely never be served in her suspicious death.
