Testimony wraps up on first day of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ capital murder trial
MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) —The first day of testimony has wrapped up in the capital murder case of Frederic Rogers who is charged, along with John Legg, with killing seven people in Valhermoso Springs in June 2020.
Rogers, 26, could face the death penalty if he is convicted. Legg does not yet have a trial date.
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The opening statements included prosecutors telling jurors some victims had been shot as many as 16 times.
And, with the defense taking the unusual position of agreeing with the prosecution, that Rogers is guilty.
Rogers and Legg are accused of killing seven people in what investigators said was a dispute within their motorcycle club dubbed “The Seven Deadly Sins.”
Morgan County Assistant District Attorney Courtney Schellack opened by telling jurors the case is special due to its sheer magnitude. Investigators have called it the worst murder case in Morgan County history.
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Schellack laid out the facts of the case saying deputies arrived at a house on Talucah Road to find three people dead in a garage with at least one of them on fire. She said as the deputies worked their way through the house, sometimes dealing with other fires, they found even more bodies, seven in all. The assistant DA said each victim had been shot multiple times, as many as 16 times each.
She said ultimately the suspects were narrowed down to Rogers and Legg who were later found in Oregon 17 days later.
During his opening statement, Defense Attorney Carl Cole offered a surprise, saying Rogers is guilty of capital murder. He said Rogers will die in prison because the jury will find him guilty.
News 19’s Dallas Parker said Rogers nodded in the courtroom when Cole said he was guilty.
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Cole said the question before the jury is how Rogers is going to die. Cole said the jury gets to decide if that is by natural causes in prison or via the death penalty. He said the defense won’t argue that Rogers is not guilty.
“He’s guilty okay? We are trying to help explain, but not excuse, why we are here,” he said.
Cole apologized to the victim’s families and said the evidence of the killings was going to make jurors uncomfortable.
Cole said Rogers ultimately told authorities why he and Legg went to Oregon and shared information about Legg.
“In the end, he handcuffs himself and turns himself over to the government knowing he’s never not going to be in their control again,” Cole said while playing a video showing Rogers in an interrogation room.
Cole said Rogers will spend his life in prison but he wasn’t born wanting that to happen. He said the defense will ask the jury to find value in his life during the penalty phase of the trial.
Capital murder trials can contain two phases. The guilt phase is the standard trial — where a jury decides whether the convict or acquit the defendant. If they decide on conviction, then the trial moves to the penalty phase. In the penalty phase both sides present arguments on why the jury should vote for the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Those are the only two sentences possible in Alabama for a capital murder conviction.
Testimony Tuesday started at the beginning of the case. Prosecutors focused primarily on the original 911 call and body cam footage and photos from the crime scene. Jurors heard from the two deputies who originally responded to the scene.
Body camera footage from a former Morgan County deputy showed how he worked his way through the house, finding several bodies, one on fire.
Crime Scene Investigator Jacob Fanning also testified to photos of the scene he took during the investigation. The photos showed each of the victims, where they were found in the house and their injuries.
Fanning also testified concerning ballistics at the scene. He said after Rogers and Legg were arrested in Oregon their vehicle was taken back to Alabama and searched. Fanning said three guns were found in the vehicle including a Taurus pistol and another Taurus firearm.
After the testimony on the guns, the court broke for the day.
The judge told the jury, who was sworn in on Friday, that the trial was likely to last into mid-September.
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