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Lifetime’s new movie A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story tells the ripped-from-the-headlines story of notorious murderer Randy Roth. More than three decades ago, Roth was convicted of killing his third wife, Cynthia Baumgarter Roth, in 1991. He’s also suspected of killing his second wife, Janis Roth, in 1981, though he was never tried for that crime. Now 68, Roth is currently serving a 50-year sentence in a Washington State prison. 

‘A Rose for Her Grave’ is based on a book by Ann Rule

Colin Egglesfield as Randy Rother, looking at Chrishell Stause in 'A Rose for Her Grave' on Lifetime
Colin Egglesfield and Chrishell Stause in ‘A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story’ | Lifetime

A Rose for Her Grave is based on a book by celebrated true crime writer Ann Rule. It explores the case against Roth (played by Something Borrowed star Colin Egglesfield in the Lifetime movie), whose wife Cynthia died during a family outing to Lake Sammamish, near Seattle, in 1991. Roth claimed that Cynthia drowned when a speedboat caused their inflatable raft to flip over. But prosecutors argued that he actually held her underwater before rowing back to shore with her body, according to a 1992 Associated Press report. 

Prosecutors also suggested that Roth killed Janis in 1981. She died following what her husband said was an accidental fall while the couple was on a hike. In both cases, the motive was money. Roth collected a $115,000 life insurance policy on Janis. He’d taken out a $385,000 policy on Cynthia. During the trial, Roth’s third wife, Donna Clift, also testified that he’d tried to kill her during a rafting trip, the New York Daily News reported. Another woman said he dumped her when she told him she was uninsurable.  

Randy Roth is in prison in Washington State

Black and white photo of Randy Roth being led into court
Randy Roth in 1992 | Bromberger Hoover Photography/Getty Images

A jury deliberated just eight hours before finding Roth guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. 

Roth is currently incarcerated at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, Wash., according to the Washington State Department of Corrections website. The prison is home to roughly 1,900 male inmates. 

In 2015, Roth, who served in the Marines before his conviction, was mentioned in a KUOW report about a program at the prison for inmates who served in the military. The program houses inmate veterans together in a pod. A photo showed Roth participating in a color guard ceremony. As depicted in A Rose for Her Grave, Roth lied about his military service, telling people he was in combat in Vietnam. In reality, he was a file clerk stationed in Okinawa, according to the Seattle Times.  

Randy Roth’s brother was also a murderer 

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In a strange twist, Randy Roth was not the only member of his family to go to prison for murder. His brother David Roth was convicted of murdering a hitchhiker near Everett, Washington, in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison. For years, the woman’s identity was a mystery, until DNA testing in 2020 testing revealed her to be 17-year-old Elizabeth “Lisa” Ann Roberts, the Tacoma News-Tribune reported. David Roth was released in 2005 and died in 2015.

A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story airs Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. 

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