Update – December 4, 2019: Sievers was convicted. You can learn more here. Our original article is below.
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Mark Sievers , 51, stands trial in Lee County, Florida allegedly orchestrating the murder of his wife Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46. He got friend Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., 51, to do it, and this killer got another man, Jimmy Ray Rodgers, 29, to help, prosecutors said. Wright and Rodgers ambushed the victim while she was supposed to be home alone one day in 2015 after she returned early from a family vacation, authorities said.
As far as prosecutors is concerned, Mark Sievers is the last man they have to take down to get justice for Dr. Sievers. Wright flipped, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and agreed to testify against his alleged co-conspirators. He testified against Rodgers, who was charged with first-degree murder, and convicted of second-degree murder last month. This defendant was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and trespassing.
Authorities said in the Rodgers trial that Sievers said he wanted his wife dead because of a possible divorce and custody battle.
“I can’t win that fight,” Mark Sievers said according to Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter. “The only way I can win is for her to die.”
Wright was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the slaying. Rodgers’ sentencing is pending.
[Mugshot via Lee County Sheriff’s Office]