Tennessee Death Row Inmate Dies 25 Years After Notorious Casino Murder

• Gerald Powers, 70, dies while serving a death sentence for the 1996 murder of Shannon Sanderson.
• Powers abducted Sanderson after watching her win $5K at Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica.

A Tennessee man who spent 25 years on death row for the notorious kidnap and murder of a glamorous young woman he saw winning big at a Mississippi casino has died in prison, age 70.

Gerald Powers was sentenced to death in 1999 for killing Shannon Sanderson, a 25-year-old mother of three, in Memphis, Tenn.

Powers followed Sanderson from Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica, Miss., to Memphis, where he kidnapped her. He drove the victim approximately 40 miles to an abandoned house where he shot her dead, stealing the money she won at the casino and her jewelry.

While the official cause of Power’s death is pending the medical examiner’s report, his attorney told The Tennessean newspaper he had been suffering from advanced metastatic cancer.

Shocking Killing

On April 18, 1996, Sanderson planned to go to the casino with her husband, Robert Sanderson, a wealthy local businessman, to celebrate his birthday. But Robert’s daughter from another marriage turned up unexpectedly with a cake and he decided to stay at home.

The couple argued, and Shannon resolved to visit the casino regardless. She left her children with her ex-husband’s parents, before driving the 40 miles to Tunica.

At around 5 a.m., Sanderson’s former father-in-law was awoken by the sound of an argument in the street. When he went out to investigate, he saw Sanderson’s car and assumed the man she was arguing with was her husband.

He went back inside to fetch a shirt, but when he returned there was no sign of Sanderson or anyone else. Her car remained parked in the street with one of the doors open.

Police found several witnesses in the neighborhood who reported seeing someone throw Sanderson into the back seat of a maroon Chevrolet Beretta and drive away at speed.

Confessed to Wife

Powers returned to his Clarksdale, Miss. home at around 9:30 a.m. that morning, telling his wife, Sharon Powers, he had won big at Sam’s Town.

After repeated questioning, he admitted to her that he had abducted, robbed, and killed a woman he had seen playing blackjack at Sam’s Town the night before.

When the couple saw a news report on Sanderson’s disappearance, Sharon Powers contacted the police.

Death Sentence

Powers was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. These factors, coupled with his history of assaulting and robbing women, made him eligible for the death penalty.

In 2003, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the sentence despite disagreement among the justices over whether it had been appropriate for the lower court to permit testimony from Powers’ wife against him.