Dr. Teresa Sievers Trial Discussion - Mark Sievers and Jimmy Rodgers

[Oregonmama]

I just doesn't make sense to me but I'm sure it does to JRR though re that he thinks he has a small chance of being acquitted. He looked so happy in the courtroom today. No remorse at all!

 

[beach]

@beach Thank you for that. I too was on a jury, not anywhere NEAR what this is, it was a grand theft (auto) and 3 days of testimony. I went in PRO PRO PRO law enforcement. I had worked with and grew up with LE so i'm very 'tough' on criminals. I never thought i'd even make it TO a jury with my background, but they took me. When we went to deliberate, i was voted fore(wo)man. we took first vote, it was 9 guilty, 3 not guilty. I was one of the not guilty, surprisingly. We took 2 days, went over evidence and dates which where VERY important in this case, as it had to do with towing a car and selling it after. We ended up with NOT GUILTY because even tho the 'victim' came off as such, she lied, multiple times on what she did and didn't do. The proof was in the statements, the evidence and the whole timeline. While i felt sorry for her, it was HER fault the car was 'stolen' (sold at auction to the towing company, which i did have an issue with, but was legal) and thought she could come in and change the facts. I NEVER thought i'd end up that way. It was hard but it was the RIGHT decision. And he LOOKED like a criminal, had a criminal past, but in THIS instance, ti was NOT proven that he did anything illegal. Sometimes you have to just sit back and go thru it again and again to cross the T's and dot the I's to get the final verdict.

Good for you for voting your conscience and rendering the correct verdict in that case.

 

[beach]

I just doesn't make sense to me but I'm sure it does to JRR though re that he thinks he has a small chance of being acquitted. He looked so happy in the courtroom today. No remorse at all!

Every time he gets called into that courtroom, he has to be terrified. One time it is going to be a verdict being read. I'm thinking he's just relieved that for a few more hours, he still has a chance.

 

[beach]

The other Trial Watch thread was getting too long. I generated a new one for tomorrow.

@Niner tagging so hopefully you will see this early in the morning. New thread is unlocked.

 

[Deleted member 159541]

Sad to see the Connecticut stations now covering the developments of this trial on their newscasts. I had hoped that this wouldn't happen with the JRR trial but saw it on the 6 o'clock newscast. Everyone say an extra prayer for Teresa's extended family and friends, too - this has been a tough week. Thanks and everyone sleep tight and pray for a verdict tomorrow.

 

[MsArk]

DBM

 

[msboo]

Sad to see the Connecticut stations now covering the developments of this trial on their newscasts. I had hoped that this wouldn't happen with the JRR trial but saw it on the 6 o'clock newscast. Everyone say an extra prayer for Teresa's extended family and friends, too - this has been a tough week. Thanks and everyone sleep tight and pray for a verdict tomorrow.

I’ll also make request on a national prayer chain. Will do that in the morning. Sorry to hear it hit the news up there. And we were all so happy & relieved when Mary Ann was able to take the girls to NY, away from all MSM exposure in SW Florida.

 

[JSCatron]

arrghhhhh! I'm confused as to why or how he could plead 'not guilty' since he's admitted it and provided details in a confession and he's going to testify.

When a defendant is bound over for trial after the preliminary hearing, a not guilty plea is always entered. Then if there is a plea deal presented and accepted that takes precedence over the original plea of not guilty once the plea deal is signed by all parties and then filed with the court clerk. Hope this helps others to understand.

 

[msboo]

Okay, hope this calms some nerves and helps paint a picture of what its like to be on a jury of a major case with high stakes -

I only got interested in law after serving on a jury. It was a brutal child molestation case. The defendant was the 24 year old son of an extremely prominent family in the second largest city in Alabama. Everyone knew this family. He was facing a possible sentence of 25 - life. I cannot begin to adequately express the weight of the responsibility knowing that you and 11 others hold a 24 year old kids' life in your hands. It is enormous. You feel it all day & night. It is pretty much all you can think about. Then, you think about the victim. And the victim's family. You want to give them the justice they deserve. ALL you can think about is getting it right. So many lives you are about to affect. You want to make the right decision. We are all keyboard warriors on here, but it is VERY different in that jury room, when it is you charged with making the decision.

That trial had 8 days of testimony. When we first went back to deliberate, which was about 2:00pm, we took a vote to see where we were. First vote was 10 Not Guilty - 2 Guilty. We deliberated for another 3 hours. Returned the next morning and immediately the foreman suggested we take another vote. Lo and behold, this one was 7 Guilty - 5 Not Guilty. (sometimes you just need rest and a chance to absorb everything). By the end of the 2nd day, we were 10 Guilty - 2 Not Guilty. Morning of the 3rd day we were at 11-1. We finally reached a verdict around lunch time that day. (For the record, I was one of the 2 original guilty votes. lol) I was lucky in that we had a very good jury who respected each other. No one ever got mad at anyone else or pressured them to change their vote. We simply offered why we believed the way we did. The burden is real, folks. It is heavy.

When it was all over, we were all thrilled to find out that this guy had been arrested 8 prior times for molestation. However, when the parents found out that they had retained the highest profile defense attorney in the area who had a reputation for being brutal but winning acquittals for his clients, they refused to press charges because they didn't want their children to be subjected to trial & his cross-exam. We weren't permitted to know any of that before, so we were all SO relieved and that was when we knew for a fact we had made the right decision.

Great post, Beach. So appreciate your posting that for us here to read. Really puts it into perspective.
Bless you.

 

[RaspberryMama]

I just found an old PDF I had saved from TS's murder. It's 33 pages and has a lot of info in it! It is a great refresher course for all of us who were so devoted to solving her murder. Things we all have forgotten about.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2630726/investigative-report-teresa-sievers-case.pdf

I just finished reading this document again, and the mention of "two hammers" on page 5 has me confused. I'll attach a screenshot of the paragraph. It says Mark identified the two hammers found at the scene. Is this a typo? Or is it referring to the hammer that CWW used and another one that was clean/unused? They never found the ball peen hammer from JRR's white cooler, correct?

 

[Niner]

The other Trial Watch thread was getting too long. I generated a new one for tomorrow.

@Niner tagging so hopefully you will see this early in the morning. New thread is unlocked.

Found it and have posted for today!

 

[MsJosie]

The prosecutors in this trial are different from MS trial, is that correct?

Will JR possibly testify in MS trial?

Thanks.

 

[Legally Bland]

The prosecutors in this trial are different from MS trial, is that correct?

Will JR possibly testify in MS trial?

Thanks.

It's the same prosecutors, Hunter and Ross.

Don't know about JRR, do you mean as a witness for the state or the defense?

 

[Scalex]

The only way JRR would be testifying against MS is if the state gave him a deal to shorten his sentence. Since they haven’t given him a deal worth considering yet, I don’t see that happening.
Now maybe as a defense witness. But that’s doubtful too, because if he’s found guilty he will be working on his appeal.

 

[Arachne 1]

Thank you.

Funny anecdote to that story -
The judge that presided over that case was the person who influenced me to get into law. After we were dismissed, the prosecution came to us and thanked us. Asked questions about what we felt they did right, things they should've done differently, basic feedback. I wanted to speak to the judge and I told the state prosecutor. I was so mad at him. Mad, mad, mad! And he was going to know it before I left that courthouse. lol (I was young, folks. Young & dumb. And, obviously, bold as hell. lol) Anyway, the judge had allowed the defense to cross-exam this precious, absolutely adorable 8 year old little boy on for almost 2 days. I was livid that that child had to endure that. Well, the judge came out and invited me into his chambers to talk. He let me fuss at him, while trying not to smile. He explained to me that if he had not permitted it, that the child would have had to go through it all over again. (Mistrial, appeal, etc...) So, okay. I was still mad but I guessed he probably knew what he was doing. He asked me then if I had ever thought about getting in the legal field. I thought he was crazy. All I wanted was to get out of that courthouse. haha

About 2 months later I ran into him in a small neighborhood pub. Sitting at the bar, drinking a beer. He recognized me and waved me over. That night he talked me into giving it a try. Offered me a job in his brother's law firm. Started the next week. And here I am, a whole bunch of years later with an ABA certification in paralegal studies. I still do a little work, but basically retired from the rat race now. You never know what life is going to throw your way.

Edited to correct child's age.

Wow! How lucky for you! Good that you stuck to your guns!

 

[Dmacky]

I just finished reading this document again, and the mention of "two hammers" on page 5 has me confused. I'll attach a screenshot of the paragraph. It says Mark identified the two hammers found at the scene. Is this a typo? Or is it referring to the hammer that CWW used and another one that was clean/unused? They never found the ball peen hammer from JRR's white cooler, correct?

@RaspberryMama I "think" those are pictures they had taken of the crime scene.
They are asking MS about the tools he owned. There were 2 hammers found in the garage, and LE is asking MS if they were his. He says he doesn't know.

 

[MsJosie]

It's the same prosecutors, Hunter and Ross.

Don't know about JRR, do you mean as a witness for the state or the defense?

I was wondering if same prosecutors for state. So Hunter and Ross can now take what they used, missed using and learned and use it against a stronger questioning case .

Can, or do you think, MS team will have JRR testify?

I know MS has his own set of lawyers,

Even though JRR 2nd degree, it means, IMO, the jury believed MS was the mastermind. I hope MS is shaking in his cell. 2 down, guilty....one to go....

Thanks for the answer Legally Bland

 

[Scalex]

I was wondering if same prosecutors for state. So Hunter and Ross can now take what they used, missed using and learned and use it against a stronger questioning case .

Can, or do you think, MS team will have JRR testify?

I know MS has his own set of lawyers,

Even though JRR 2nd degree, it means, IMO, the jury believed MS was the mastermind. I hope MS is shaking in his cell. 2 down, guilty....one to go....

Thanks for the answer Legally Bland

I don’t think they can, and I don’t think they would want him too. But I also don’t think the jury felt that way. I don’t think they even considered if it was a murder for hire or not, because it wasn’t relevant in Rodgers being guilty or not. It will be in the next one. Since the jury said they didn’t think Rodgers had a weapon, I don’t think they thought he was in on any plan or committed the murder, just that he either knew it occurred or was there and didn’t stop it. To me, the result of this trial seems to make CWW’s testimony inaccurate, so I’m not sure what the state is going to do in the MS trial. They surely can’t say JRR bludgeoned Teresa when a jury found him not guilty of that.

 

[beach]

I don’t think they can, and I don’t think they would want him too. But I also don’t think the jury felt that way. I don’t think they even considered if it was a murder for hire or not, because it wasn’t relevant in Rodgers being guilty or not. It will be in the next one. Since the jury said they didn’t think Rodgers had a weapon, I don’t think they thought he was in on any plan or committed the murder, just that he either knew it occurred or was there and didn’t stop it. To me, the result of this trial seems to make CWW’s testimony inaccurate, so I’m not sure what the state is going to do in the MS trial. They surely can’t say JRR bludgeoned Teresa when a jury found him not guilty of that.

Respectfully, I think you’re reading WAY too much into the the jury’s verdict. I agree that they didn’t believe Wayne, or at least threw out his testimony. Doesn’t mean they didn’t believe he had a weapon or helped commit the act. Only that the State didn’t prove all elements of Murder 1 within a reasonable doubt.

Pretty apparent to me that the jury felt Wayne was the mastermind of the two and they didn’t trust his testimony concerning Jimmy. That’s pretty much all it amounts to, IMO.

 

[Scalex]

Respectfully, I think you’re reading WAY too much into the the jury’s verdict. I agree that they didn’t believe Wayne, or at least threw out his testimony. Doesn’t mean they didn’t believe he had a weapon or helped commit the act. Only that the State didn’t prove all elements of Murder 1 within a reasonable doubt.

Pretty apparent to me that the jury felt Wayne was the mastermind of the two and they didn’t trust his testimony concerning Jimmy. That’s pretty much all it amounts to, IMO.

I agree that was probably how they felt. That there just wasn’t enough to convict him on those things. I am just wondering if their verdict (2nd degree murder, no weapon) holds any weight in the next trial. Can the defense say he was found not guilty of having a hammer? I guess I’ll just have to wait and see, I’m just curious how much this is going to affect everything else because we aren’t done yet.