Alexandra Rooker Deserved Better. And Her Life Might Have Been Saved If The Vermont State Police Would Have Revealed What They Knew Earlier.

Alexandra Rooker

She was a free spirit. Her soul was that of a gypsy. Alex celebrated life to the fullest, she took risks, loved nature and all animals put a smile on her face. Alex gave happy hugs to those who needed them and always saw beauty everywhere. This beautiful spirit has now found eternal freedom among the wildflowers within our heavenly skies.

She was born on June 1st, 1990, in Rutland, Vermont, to James L. and Nancy (Sweeney) Rooker. Alexandra graduated from the Fair Haven High School in 2008 and earned her LNA degree from the Stafford Technical Center. She had been employed by several area nursing homes as an LNA. Alexandra enjoyed hiking, horses, horseback riding and loved her dog, Lucy. 

Alex was last seen on March 3rd, 2017 when a friend dropped her off at Wayne Oddo's home on Morse Hollow Road. She was reported missing March 8th, by family members who said they hadn’t heard from her for several days. 

Oddo initially told police that Alex had been at his property but was no longer there. Later, when police arrived with a warrant, Oddo told them they could find her body in the shed. 

Alex's body was found in a tarp, it had been there a week. There was no signs of trauma. Her cause of death was given as acute mixed intoxication, with three drugs found in her system: morphine, methamphetamine and hydromorphone.

Oddo also told authorities that he let others use his home as a base as they dealt drugs in Rutland and other nearby towns. He said that they would stay at his home and in exchange provide him drugs.

Police seized several firearms from Oddo’s home, including an AK-47 and a .22-caliber Ruger rifle.

That wasn't the first time someone's body was found on Oddo's property. Six months before Alex's death, a New York state man, Frederick J. Weitzman, 54, also died at Oddo’s property. His death was listed as caused by ongoing medical conditions along with “acute heroin intoxication” a contributing factor. Oddo did not report Frederick's death in a timely fashion. 

The Vermont State Police never revealed to the public Frederick’s death or the circumstances surrounding it, even though they and the state’s attorney’s office were at Oddo’s residence investigating his death. The details of this prior death were finally reported to the public because Mike Donoghue discovered them while reporting on Oddo’s court case for the Rutland Herald. The Vermont State Police maintain that they have discretion when to inform the public about deaths and chose not to in this case. 

Could prior knowledge of Frederick's death have saved Alex's life?

In 2018, Oddo was sentenced to 24 months in prison for housing drug dealers.

Alex's family wishes that Oddo would have called 9-1-1 when she overdosed and that said that she deserved better. I agree, i think Oddo should have gotten into worse trouble than he did.