Jimmy Ray Rodgers, 29, is set to be sentenced in Lee County, Florida for the 2015 beating death of Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46. He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but jurors instead convicted him last month of second-degree murder. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, and trespass. Prosecutors said he was one part of a conspiracy to end the victim’s life.
BREAKING: Jury now deliberating in FL v. Jimmy Rodgers. If convicted of the 1st-degree murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers he faces the possibility of the death penalty. pic.twitter.com/87KvW8J7Ho
— Law & Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 22, 2019
According to authorities, Dr. Sievers’ husband Mark Sievers, 51, recruited his childhood friend Curtis Wayne Wright, 51, to end her life. Wright in return got Rodgers to help kill the victim, prosecutors said.
In Rodgers’ trial, his ex-girlfriend Taylor Shomaker testified that he told her about the murder.
#SieversTrial – Shomaker testified that following Dr. Sievers’ murder she asked Rodgers if he “killed her” and he said yes. Shomaker asked if it was with a gun and Rodgers said, no it was a hammer. pic.twitter.com/hL4rPtem3R
— Law & Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 16, 2019
Wright was the first man to go down for Dr. Sievers’ murder. He flipped, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for 25 years in prison, and testified against his co-defendants. Then Rodgers went to trial. Mark Sievers was tried last and was convicted as charges of first-degree murder. A jury recommended the death penalty on Tuesday, but he has yet to be formally sentenced.
[Screengrab via Law&Crime]
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