Gerald Lee Powers and the infamous casino murder case

In the spring of 1996, a young woman, who won several thousand dollars at a Mississippi casino, was murdered. It didn't take long for police to identify the prime suspect in the casino murder case, Gerald Lee Powers. Several years after the killing of the young woman, the man was sentenced to death.

Gerald Lee Powers conviction

Nearly 30 years have passed since the crime was committed, yet many people still wonder where is Gerald Lee Powers now and whether the death row inmate is still alive. The infamous casino murder case was lengthy but ultimately resulted in a death sentence followed by a twenty-year prison sentence as the defendant was found guilty of felony murder and an aggravated robbery charge.

Courts in Tennessee determined that Powers was guilty on the two charges that stemmed from the murder of a 25-year-old victim, Shannon Sanderson. The young victim was followed by Powers after a night of gambling at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

The investigation into the case uncovered that the woman was kidnapped, robbed and murdered by Gerald Lee Powers. During the trial, aggravating circumstances were presented and accepted, contributing to the defendant's death sentence.

Gerald Powers: biography

• Full name: Gerald Lee Powers
• Born: September 22, 1954
• Died: April 12, 2025
• Convictions: murder, aggravated robbery
• Murder method: shooting
• Victim: Shannon Sanderson, 25
• Date of crime: April 19, 1996

The suspect filed an appeal after his conviction in the casino murder case

Gerald Lee Powers was convicted by a Shelby County jury for first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery. He received a sentence of death for the murder charge along with a consecutive 30-year prison sentence for the aggravated robbery charge.

Maintaining his right of appeal in the casino murder case, Gerald Powers challenged the conviction by the Shelby County jury, raising several issues, including whether the court made an error by permitting his wife to testify against him. He listed a total of seven issues in his appeal filed late in September 2001.

While the Court of Criminal Appeals reaffirmed the death sentence conviction of Gerald Lee Powers for the murder charge, it reduced the sentence for the aggravated assault charge from 30 years to 20 years.

Consequently, the casino murder case was automatically docketed to the Supreme Court of Tennessee. There, Gerald Lee Powers raised similar issues. However, in the end, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, leaving Powers with the death sentence and a 20-year prison sentence for the kidnapping, robbery and murder of Sanderson.

The Supreme Court's decision was announced on January 6, 2003. While justices were divided over several issues, in a 3-2 decision, the high court affirmed the ruling of the Court of Criminal Appeals. "The death sentence Gerald Powers received for killing a Memphis woman in1996 was affirmed Monday in a 3-2 decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court, with justices divided over whether trial testimony by the defendant’s wife should have been allowed," reads an announcement by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

The victim played blackjack and won $5K before she was kidnapped and killed

An investigation into the casino murder case determined that Powers was at Sam's Town Casino, where the victim, Shannon Sanderson, won $5,000 right before she was murdered. On the evening of April 18, 1996, the victim visited the Tunica, Mississippi, casino.

While Sanderson was initially supposed to visit the venue together with her husband, Robert Sanderson, after an argument, she decided to attend alone. Leaving her children with her grandparents, the woman departed at approximately 6:30 PM on that day for Sam's Town Casino.

At the popular casino, Shannon Sanderson played blackjack for most of the night. She won some $5,000 and, after cashing her chips at around 3:00 AM on the morning of April 19, 1996, she was escorted by a casino security officer to her car. Sanderson received her winnings in $100 dollar bills.

After a night of gambling, Shannon Sanderson travelled back to her grandparents to take her kids without knowing she was followed by Gerald Powers.

The young woman was kidnapped, murdered and left in an abandoned house

The investigation that resulted in first degree murder charges against Powers determined that he was at Sam's Town Casino on the night and in the early morning hours of April 18 and April 19, 1996. Surveillance footage captured a man, wearing white tennis shoes and looking in the direction of the blackjack table where the victim was playing. After Sanderson left the table, the man followed her. Court documents reveal Powers followed Shannon Sanderson with his wife's car, a maroon Chevrolet Beretta.

The victim was heading back to the house where her former father-in-law lived, as she was planning to pick up her children. Her father-in-law, Edward Holland, said that he was awakened by barking dogs at approximately 4:45 AM on April 19, 1996.

CCTV footage captured both the victim and the attacker on the night of April 19, 1996, at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

While Holland saw Sanderson near her car initially, after he stepped outside, the victim's car was left parked there, but she was gone. Shortly before going out, Holland heard an argument and assumed that Shannon was arguing with her husband.

Testimony of one of Holland's neighbors suggested seeing a person standing next to Ms. Sanderson's car. The same neighbor heard a scream and a thud and then saw the man putting something in the back seat of a car before driving off.

According to an autopsy report of the victim, she suffered a range of facial injuries after a strong hit. However, the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the right side of the victim's head. Court documents reveal that after Gerald Powers kidnapped Ms. Sanderson from Memphis, he transported her to an abandoned house in Mississippi. There, the woman was shot and killed. Law enforcement uncovered the victim's decomposed body on May 9, 1996.

Gerald Powers told his wife he won big at a casino but in the end admitted to the crime

When the victim was found, her jewelry was missing along with other personal belongings, including the money won at the casino. Several weeks later, on May 22, 1996, a border patrol in Hebronville, Texas, noticed a maroon Chevrolet Baretta making a suspicious maneuver.

Officers identified Gerald Lee Powers and while he attempted to fight back with a knife, he was ultimately arrested. The casino murder case saw Powers' wife, Sharon Powers, testify against her husband.

After going home on the morning of April 19, 1996, Gerald Powers told his wife that he won big while playing at a casino. However, his wife found out that he cleaned her car, the maroon Chevrolet Beretta. Moreover, Ms. Powers said her husband "was acting really nervous", "doing kind of strange things like going to the blinds and peeking out," according to court documents. After Powers' wife suspected him of an affair and continued to question him, he admitted the crime.

Gerald Lee Powers passed away at 70

Earlier this year, people interested in whether Gerald Lee Powers is still alive received an answer. Some 26 years after his sentence, the death row inmate passed away this spring. Details regarding the cause of death of Gerald Powers were not available. At the time he passed away, the Tennessee death row inmate was 70.

A report by The Tennessean confirmed that Gerald Lee Powers passed away on Saturday, April 12, 2025. According to the attorney representing Powers, Amy Harwell, he suffered from metastatic cancer. However, at the time of the announcement of Gerald Powers' death, the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) did not disclose a cause of death.

Harwell claimed that Powers did not receive proper medical treatment for his cancer condition. "Mr. Powers suffered from advanced, metastatic cancer yet TDOC failed to provide adequate medical care, resulting in needless suffering. Lee's family, his faithful visitor, and his legal team all regret his untimely death," the attorney wrote.

Gerald Lee Powers obituary and aggravating circumstances

Despite the passing of Gerald Lee Powers, public interest in the casino murder case persists. During his trial, courts explored three aggravating circumstances, including a previous conviction of one or more violent crimes, committing murder in order to avoid arrest and/or prosecution and committing murder while committing a kidnapping.

When reviewing Gerald Lee Powers' criminal case, the Tennessee Supreme Court reaffirmed the defendant's death sentence, recognizing that all three aggravating circumstances related to the murder of Shannon Sanders had been "established beyond a reasonable doubt and that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt."

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