That same weekend, Shomaker was in Missouri, throwing a baby shower for a friend, Wendy Crader. Rubio hopes to rebound four months after loss, In tough economic times, non-compete agreements are ending up in Collier courts, Southwest Florida is serious about fried chicken, and Cracklin' Jacks, they say, is seriously good, Demons Next Door: Coping with bad neighbors, Dr. Johnny's Car Clinic: What to do when your brakes pulse. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. #SieversTrial Hunter shows the jury Secret Communications between Sievers and Wright about the prepaid burner phones. Thats why she was so admired and respected. Defendants Mark Sievers - convicted, sentenced to death Jimmy Ray Rodgers - convicted, sentenced to LWOP Curtis Wayne Wright - pled guilty, sentenced to 25 years in prison (cannot locate him yet) Wright and Rodgers also were connected through Facebook. About Public Member Trees. Now, here is where things stand for each convict: Wrights attorney on Monday said she hopes her clients sentencing brings some closure to Teresa Sievers family. Stealing car stereos and, you know, car parts, and now he's moved into stealing cars. Both men were arrested for Teresas murder. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. It's not, Parker said. A GPS leads police right to the hitmans door. "She said they're trying to railroad him," Wideman said of her daughter. Jimmy Ray Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright were the first two to be convicted for the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers in her Bonita Springs residence. A long-awaited sentencing gives survivors the chance to come face-to-face with their attacker, who eluded them for so long. A Florida man was convicted of murder and conspiracy for enlisting his best friend to kill his wife in 2015, PEOPLE confirms. On October 23, 2019, a Lee County jury found him guilty and on December 12, he was sentenced to life in prison. Curtis Wayne Wright Jr was 51 when he was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. [2][8], Wright took a 25-year plea deal in exchange for his testimony against Mark and Rodgers. WATCH LIVE: Ex-boyfriend on trial for allegedly killing womans new beau, WATCH LIVE: Psychic on Trial in Spousal Swindling Case, WATCH LIVE: XXXTentacion murder trial 3 men charged in 2018 shooting death of rapper, Law&Crime Looks Ahead to 10 Remarkable Criminal Trials Scheduled for the First Half of 2023, 9 Shocking Times Defendants Testified at Trial, Filled with Hatred: Far-right Proud Boy brawler convicted on 10 felonies for inciting and directing riot against counter-protesters, Family calls on U.S. to intervene to help solve death of social media influencer seen being brutally beaten in video in Mexico, Man arrested more than 3 decades after Atlanta woman found raped and strangled in woods, Two far-right Trump supporters who sought war over 2020 election sentenced for conspiring to blow up Democratic Headquarters, Alex Murdaugh juror: We prayed before returning to courtroom with guilty verdict for murders, Sievers, the mastermind, got the death penalty, 'Filled with Hatred': Far-right Proud Boy brawler convicted on 10 felonies for inciting and directing riot against counter-protesters, Two far-right Trump supporters who sought 'war' over 2020 election sentenced for conspiring to blow up Democratic Headquarters, Judge throws the book at boyfriend for killing and dismembering girlfriend, whose remains were scattered outside their home, Mark Sievers Sentenced to Death for Orchestrating Murder of Wife Dr. Teresa Sievers, Watch: Mark Sievers in Court for Orchestrating Murder of Wife Dr. Teresa Sievers, Jimmy Ray Rodgers Sentenced to Life for Murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers, Watch: Jimmy Ray Rodgers Sentencing Hearing in Dr. Teresa Sievers Murder, Jury Recommends Death for Mark Sievers in Murder of Wife Dr. Teresa Sievers, Mark Sievers Faces Penalty Phase for Orchestrating Murder of Wife Dr. Teresa Sievers. In December 2015, Teresa's husband, Mark Sievers, was arrested and accused of orchestrating the killing, with the motive being life insurance money, as well as the fact that Teresa was supposedly going to take his daughters away from him and he could not afford to fight for custody. Wright said that Mark Sievers recruited him to kill the victim, and he in turn got Rodgers to help out. High humidity will make our afternoon feels like temperatures reach the 90s in many spots. Fryer described Sievers as a sweet guy and said she didn't have anything bad to say about him. The day before her funeral he was at the beach inviting people back to his house for a pool party and he was cold when people tried to comfort him. As Dr. Sievers operated her medical practice and raised her two young daughters, she couldn't have known the two men accused of taking her life were fraternizing in jail, forming a bond that would later put them back in the very place they met behind the bars of a jail cell. Sievers was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the plot to kill his. His plea agreement required that he provide substantial assistance. Rodger's girlfriend helped police with their investigation and told them that Rodgers had admitted to killing Teresa Sievers. Police charged a homeless man with first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed criminal action and attempted forcible rape in the killing. Somehow, it will come out. Her husband, Mark Sievers, 51, allegedly told childhood friend Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., 51, that he feared losing his daughters in a divorce. Rodgers initially faced a first-degree murder charge and the possibility of the death penalty. Greg Bolin said he did his best to avoid Wright, even though the two men lived less than a half-mile from each other at the time of Wright's most recent arrest. The jury agreed with the prosecution that Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright carried out the murder. Juliette said he didnt know Rodgers before he hired him but did put him through the same sort of background checks anybody who applies goes through. [16] They continued to track the story until May 2019, with the original video segment being released on their YouTube channel on May 6, 2019. Juliette said thatin the construction industry its not unusual for applicants to have a record. Police say that Sievers was bludgeoned to death by Rodgers and Wright, and one of the main pieces of evidence leading to their later arrest was that GPS system. According to the State Attorneys Office, Anthony Winn Cole, 51, was adjudicated guilty. "I will never forget what that cop said to me," Bolin said. Mary Ann Groves, Teresa Sievers mother, made a victim impact statement about her extraordinary daughter who was making a difference in the world, and spoke of the lives shed left behind. [1] She later completed a pre-med course at Fairfield University and completed her residency at the University of Florida. How much should your insurance company pay, and can an adjuster stack on costs? The fires are in the Golden Gate Estates on Wilson Boulevard and Jung Boulevard. It is pretty crazy. [14] Three years later in February 2020, they aired another episode that focused on the murder trials that followed her killing. Bolin said he last saw Wright in April at family services office in town. Wright planned the murder with the victim's husband, Mark Sievers, he also told the jurors during both trials. Mark had driven her to LaGuardia Airport in New York City earlier in the day so she could catch a flight home. Mary Ann Groves was back in courtroom 8-A on Monday. "Jim was always kind of a troubled child," Ball said. He admitted he and Rodgers had killed Teresa. She was the valedictorian of her high school class. A motion filed by a Bonita Springs man on death row for hiring two individuals to murder his wife in 2015 that sought to reverse a recent ruling has been denied. I wish there was a way to change what happened, but I cant, Wright said. Juliette added that there was nothing in Rodgers' background or interview that would have indicated that he might be capable of the crimes he has been charged with. With God as my witness, that's what that cop said to me.". "He saw me," Bolin said, "and he just got in his car and left. [3] Mark said he would pay Wright to help him, so the two men then planned how to murder Teresa. We had a great friendship and I thought our marriage would be great.'". Tyler Juliette, who operates JV Contracting in Cadet, Mo., said that he has since let Rodgers go. Curtis Wayne Wright was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison in the homicide of Dr. Teresa Sievers. Ican't and it will be with me for the rest of my life and I'm truly sorry., Why Wright's case was significant: For Missouri man with missing brother, Teresa Sievers murder trial is of extra significance. Both men were charged with murder. Sievers was accused of asking a longtime friend, Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., to murder Teresa Sievers. Detectives say both Rodgers and Wright were spotted at a nearby Walmart on the night of the homicide. How had they known Teresa was alone that day or was the whole family the target? Jurors deliberated for just four hours at the Lee County Justice Center before returning with a guilty verdict, according to News-Press. There were reports of other alternative doctors dying in suspicious circumstances in the US. We hold that time very closely." They could not be reached for comment on Wednesday's verdict. Investigators foundahammer next to her body. The victim,TeresaSievers,was found dead on the kitchen floorofher familys home on Jarvis Road in Bonita Springs on June 29, 2015. Curtis Wayne Wright, convicted in beating Dr. Teresa Sievers to death with a hammer in 2015, was sentenced on Monday at the Lee County Courthouse by Judge Bruce Kyle to 25 years in prison. Teresa Sievers was her familys strength, inspiration and caretaker, her mother said. Detectives in Jefferson County, Missouri, say Curtis Wayne Wright is a person of interest in Bolins disappearance. The destination was more than 17 hours away from their start according to CBS News. [2], In 2000, she married a man named Kenny Cousins. Wright said he hit Teresa three times and then Rodgers had taken the hammer and continued to hit her over and over again. Wright, the third suspect in the murder, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. In Naples, city council authorized the city manager to spend up to $100,000 to expedite the cleanup of dead fish within the city waterways []. Moments before sentencing, Curtis Wright addressed the judge and then turned to Teresa Sievers mom, That will be with me for the rest of my life. had disbanded, and Eazy-E fell prey to complications from AIDS. While waiting to stand trial in the federal firearms case, Rodgers was held in Sainte Genevieve County, about an hour south of St. Louis. Neighbor Jimmy Ball lived next to the Rodgerses for about eight or nine years before the sons sold the house. You have robbed usall of the most brilliant, unique and compassionate doctor and human being.. Olivarez pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter of a child, a first-degree felony. pic.twitter.com/Bla425Q7TV, Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) January 3, 2020. Sievers' attorneys told FOX 4 they plan to appeal the sentence if the death penalty is imposed. On another occasion soon after, Bolin said he was in the car with Wright when Wright was pulled over and questioned about some stolen cars. When Teresa Sievers husband Mark heard that she did not make it into work the next day, he asked a family friend to check on her in their apartment to see if she was home. Any time youre moving an inmate, theres an escape risk.". Wright and25-year-old Jimmy Rodgers were arrested by authorities in Missouri last Thursday in connection with the murder of Sievers, the well-known owner of anEstero-based alternative medicine practice. Becker said she broke things off after about three months of marriage after Wright backed her against a wall and balled up his fists as if he was going to hit her. Wright, who. I dont judge peoples souls. Sievers's husband, Mark. Becker said Sievers made a comment that he had been trying to tell Wright he was bipolar since high school. Wright received his 25-year sentence in February this year. They then returned to Teresa's home and waited for several hours until she returned. Mark Sievers was charged with first-degree murder and the conspiracy to commit murder. He believed Teresa was planning on leaving him and would take the kids. I had $10 You and your wife, Deborra-Lee I'm still a little bit in you've been a week Furness, have been married shock. Leaving a family holiday early might seem like an unusual thing for a mum to do, but as well as being devoted to her two young daughters, Doctor Teresa Sievers had also made a lifelong commitment to her patients. In May, he married her niece, Angela, in a ceremony she said she did not attend. Expect sustained winds between ten to twenty miles per hour, with wind gusts as strong as thirty [], For almost a decade, the government took hundreds of dollars each month out of the paychecks of a Florida woman named Michelle to recoup old student loans that were unpaid and overdue. Prison is prison.". Rodgers chose not to speak on his own behalf, and the judge called it one of the most horrific crimes he ever tried. There were three pilot movies, followed by 245 regular episodes over nine seasons, followed by five specials. You,Curtis Wayne Wright,have stolen this gift from us, you are responsible for what has happened to her, Groves said. The bride wore the dress she planned to marry Sievers in. [13], In February 2017, the CBS News documentary show, 48 Hours, aired an episode that focused on the murder of Teresa Sievers. Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. was 51 at the time of his sentencing. Sievers was found guilty in 2019. The murder of Teresa Sievers occurred on June 28, 2015, when she was attacked at her home in Bonita Springs, Florida by two men who bludgeoned her to death with a hammer, striking her a total of seventeen times. While in Missouri for Wright's. A jury convicted Mark Sievers,. Students, staff, family, and friends came together on Friday for the annual unified basketball game at Fort Myers High School. Sievers, the mastermind, got the death penalty. Five years before his arrest in the death of Dr. Teresa Sievers in Bonita Springs, Jimmy Rodgers was in the throes of another criminal case. The fire has been called The Jung Fire. Crews have been working overnight to contain the blazes. More: Mark Sievers, sentenced to death for wife's murder, denied new trial, And: Mark Sievers before being sentenced: 'Our girls have tragically lost their mommy and now their daddy', Also: Jimmy Ray Rodgers found guilty of second-degree murder in death of Teresa Sievers. Three years later the couple divorced, and Teresa met another man called Mark Sievers through his sister, with whom she was good friends. Jimmy Rodgers and I physically did it, but Mark Sievers was also involved in the planning, Wright told the court, adding that it was planned by Sievers because he had money problems. The sentence for Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., 51, of Missouri, was previously agreed upon via a plea deal in 2016 when the man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The man who had employed Rodgers said the Missouri man had worked for him for about a year doing general labor work. While Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., 47, sits in a Missouri jail on murder charges in the death of Dr. Teresa Sievers, his wife of less than four monthsis again dealing with a tragic situation. Online records confirm Wednesday's guilty verdict against Mark Sievers, 51, in the death of his wife Teresa. In May, Rodgers and his girlfriend, Taylor Shomaker, were guests at Wright's wedding in De Soto, Missouri. Bolin said the officer pulled him aside to ask if he knew anything. When asked if she thought 25 years in prison was enough, Wrights defense attorney Elizabeth Parkersaid it can never enough. I wish that there was a way, anything at all I could do to change what happened, Wright said as he turned around to look at the victims mother in the gallery. When Becker was out of work at the end of 2011, Sievers and his wife helped put Wright in touch with people in the medical field around St. Louis to try to find her a new job. "I have no help with moving and have no income at this time so all money I raise will be used to get all set up so that I can start looking for a job and return to School for me and my babys. Fast forward to today, the three of them still [] [11] On November 17, 2022, his conviction was affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court and his death row appeal was denied. Since Wright had been jailed, his wife has been quiet and crying, according to her mother, and has been working as a waitress three nights a week in Valley Park, Missouri. An autopsy indicated the daughter died from blows to the head. By Jessica Lipscomb of the Naples Daily News. At age 17, Rodgers was charged with a felony after he was accused of resisting arrest by fleeing police and was sentenced to five years probation. Wideman said her daughter visits Wright in jail two or three times a week. It had all been his idea. Your lawyer did a good job for you, Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle told Wright after the sentencing, Naples News reported. They will spend their lives hoping to hold onto the memories of their mother they once knew and trying to forget the nightmare she endured in the last moments of her life.. We're just trying to keep our acts together. She said the area of Missouri that they are in is like a little commune. Curtis Wayne Wright describes in detail how he murdered Dr Teresa Sievers with a hammer, Teresa Sievers was a much-loved mum of two and holistic physician, Curtis Wright (left) and Mark Sievers had an uncanny resemblance to each other, Teresa was found dead on the kitchen floor of her home in Bonita Springs, Florida, Curtis Wright (left) and Mark Sievers in prison overalls, Jimmy 'The Hammer' Rodgers helped Curtis Wright kill Teresa. A Collection of Interesting, Important, and Controversial Perspectives Largely Excluded from the American Mainstream Media Karen Wideman said her daughter and Wright were friends for years. The victim, Teresa. Wright's most recent ex-wife, Kathy Becker, 47, said Wright tried to get her to write Rodgers in jail as a pen pal, something she wasn't comfortable with. Sievers and Wright had grown up together in Missouri and had remained best friends all their lives. [17], On December 10, 2019, WFTX-TV (FOX 4 Now) released footage from the trial of Mark Sievers' when the jury recommended he be sentenced to death. Have a tip or story idea? Wright had done some work on the computers at Teresas clinic and Sievers had been best man at Wrights wedding. "He was always messing with guns and knives and playing Army, and he was a little devil, you know. Prosecutors in the murder trial of Jimmy Ray Rodgers, 29, revealed the ostensible motive behind the brutal 2015 murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46. According to Lee County court documents, Rolando Olivarez, 31, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.