FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Jimmy Rodgers remains behind bars while he waits to be sentenced after being found guilty of Second Degree Murder on Wednesday.
A jury found him guilty in the murder of Bonita Springs doctor Teresa Sievers. But it wasn't the verdict the state necessarily wanted.
The state argued Rodgers helped kill Dr. Sievers in her Bonita Springs home back in 2015. They said it was part of a conspiracy to get her life insurance money.
They said Rodgers was the hired muscle for the job, and claimed Dr. Sievers' husband, Mark, set it all up. They also claimed Mark got his friend, Curtis Wright, to work out the details.
But the jury's verdict didn't reflect that theory. At first, Rodgers was facing a first-degree murder charge, along with charges of conspiracy to commit murder and burglary.
If convicted of those, Rodgers would have faced the death penalty.
But the jury only came back with a Second Degree conviction. He was found not guilty on the other charges.
“This is a possibility of a life sentence, and that's what we will be asking for,” said Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Ross. “We always respect the verdict of a jury. This jury worked very hard, spent a lot of time, and paid very close attention to all the evidence. We are going to respect that verdict.”
Pam Seay, our legal expert, says this verdict was a bit of a compromise; the state didn't get their chance to push for the death penalty.
And while the defense didn't get Rodgers off completely, she feels something similar will happen at sentencing. “When you look at what Curtis Wayne Wright received, was 25 to life, why would you all of the sudden go all the way to a life sentence for a man who apparently didn't have a weapon, apparently did not actually participate, but merely helped out with someone else who committed that crime?”
Rodgers is in custody until his sentencing. That is set to happen on Monday, November 18th.
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