Mark Sievers Sentenced to Death

Mark Sievers

Mark Sievers was sentenced to death today after being found guilty at trial of first degree murder for planning his wife’s killing. The jury found that Sievers had instigated the plan for his wife, Dr. Theresa Sievers’, murder by asking his friend Curtis Wayne Wright to carry it out. Wright traveled from Missouri with his friend Jimmy Rodgers, and the two bludgeoned Dr. Sievers in her home before travelling back to Missouri.

Curtis Wayne Wright pled guilty to murder, and agreed to testify against the others in exchange for a 25-year sentence. Rodgers was found guilty of second-degree murder in his own trial, and sentenced to life in prison. Mark Sievers was found guilty last month, and the jury recommended death during the sentencing phase. Today, the judge imposed a death sentence.

Sievers testified at the hearing today, still proclaiming his innocence, but asking for mercy. The judge indicated he would leave mercy to God, and that Sievers’ actions warranted the death penalty. As with all death penalty cases in Florida, it will be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

One of the Sievers Homicide Trials Likely to Start Tomorrow

It’s been over four years since Dr. Theresa Sievers was brutally murdered in her Lee County home. Her husband Mark Sievers, Mark’s friend from Missouri Curtis Wayne Wright, and an apparent acquaintance of Wright’s who is also from Missouri, Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers were all arrested for the killing and charged with First Degree Murder. Curtis Wright later entered a plea to murder in exchange for 25 years in prison with an agreement to give substantial assistance in the other cases, which means he will need to testify for the state. Sievers and Wright are facing the death penalty.

Theresa Sievers

Both defendants are seeking a continuance of the trial, but the judge is eager for prosecution to go forward. He has set four weeks aside to handle the case on the court calendar, and a few weeks ago the cases were severed, so they will not be tried together. That means only one can go, and Rodgers is the most likely to start this month. Since the jury must be death qualified, it will take several days to pick a jury, and maybe a couple weeks, especially in light of the media coverage the case has gained. But we won’t know until the cases go before the judge in the morning.

The State might be Paying a Key Witness in the Theresa Sievers Murder Case

• Indications are that Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers former girlfriend is being paid by LCSO
• Rodgers and Mark Sievers facing possible death penalty in the murder of Mark’s wife Dr. Theresa Seivers.

Theresa Sievers

We haven’t had much coverage in the case of Dr. Theresa Sievers, who was killed allegedly at the hands of two associates of her husband Mark, Curtis Wright and Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers. Curtis Wright has already pled to second-degree murder charges, and Rodgers and Mark Sievers are facing a possible death penalty. The case is extremely complex, due to the length of the investigation and the fact that it stretches all the way to Missouri, and the parties have been bogged down in discovery issues.

Now, NBC-2 has uncovered something very interesting in a discovery motion filed by Mark Sievers’ attorney. In the Motion to Compel Discovery, Sievers requests records relating to funds that are being paid to Taylor Shomaker. Shomaker was dating Jimmy Rogers at the time of the murder, and gave a statement against him, and is expected to be a key witness wen the case goes to trial. Therefore, if she has received payments for her testimony, especially if she’s receiving them on a regular basis, that’s fodder for the defense attorneys.

Mark Sievers and Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers

The legal issue is whether the monetary incentive could influence a witness to testify favorably for one party. It’s not unusual for professional or expert witnesses to be paid for the time they spend working on a case: consider a doctor a or a lab expert that may be hired to give an opinion on a case. However, these types of witnesses are expected to be paid, and even then it is just for the actual time they spend. Even then, it is fodder for the other side to impeach a witness based on the money they are being paid to testify. The Defense will argue that she is being paid to get her to testify against the others, and the more money she is paid, the less reliable her testimony will be.

Curtis Wayne Wright

Likewise, Curtis Wright is receiving compensation for his testimony, but not monetary. The Defense will argue that Wright is testifying so he can get a better deal. The State already let him plea to 2nd Degree Murder, effectively eliminating the risk of the death penalty for him, and potentially less prison time. In their motion, the the Defense is also trying to get documentation related to Wright’s proffer and his cooperation. Wright’s testimony will be key to tie Sievers into the plot, as it appears Wright and Rodgers committed the murder while Mark Sievers was out of town. They may have some evidence of communication between Sievers and Wright, but his testimony will be key to prove Sievers’ knowledge and complicity in the plot.

Taylor Shomaker from her law enforcement interview

That’s not unusual, for consideration to be given to one conspirator to go after another. However, the circumstances regarding the payments to Ms. Shomaker are extremely unusual. Perhaps it will be revealed that it was compensation for travel expenses or something innocuous, but the indications in the Defense’s Motion to Compel certainly sounds out of the ordinary.

via NBC-2

What’s Going On in the Theresa Sievers Murder Case

• Prosecutors have indicated an intention to seek the death penalty
• Mark Sievers’ attorneys will need assistance

Mark Sievers

Mark Sievers was back in court last week, as the court considered whether his attorneys can stay on the case. The judge ruled that they can, for now, but they will need to get assistance from an attorney who is qualified to handle death penalty cases. Florida law requires that an attorney working on a death penalty has special qualifications to do so, including previously working on a death penalty trial as second chair to a death-qualified attorney, and neither Mr. Faga nor Mr. Mummert has that qualification. However, they indicated to the court last week that they have been in contact with the death penalty unit, which has agreed to help out. Judge Kyle has agreed to let them stay on the case at this time (provisionally).

Jimmy Rodgers, “The Hammer”

Co-defendant Jimmy Rodgers, aka “The Hammer”, was also in court for a case management hearing as well. He is represented by attorney’s for the public defender’s office, who indicated that they are in a holding pattern due to the concern over the qualifications of Sievers’ attorneys. Normally, it would be time to start setting depositions at this time, but it’s important to have a death-qualified attorney, as there are specific death-penalty inquiries that need to be undertaken. For instance, a few years ago a local attorney took over a case that had been handled by a non-qualified attorney, and had to redo many of the depositions to cover additional issues. That’s a waste of time and resources that judge Kyle is being cautious to avoid.

How did we get here? After the third co-defendant, Curtis Wright, pled out to his second-degree murder charge, he gave a proffer (statement) regarding his involvement. Mark Sievers was charged after the State gained Wright’s cooperation. Subsequently, the State presented the case to a grand jury and obtained an indictment for first degree murder. This process is necessary before they can seek the death penalty. The state then filed their notice of the intent to seek the death penalty. Sievers’ attorneys have filed a motion to strike the notice of intent (alleging untimeliness, but the state contends it was filed in a timely manner under the law.) There are many other pretrial issues that remain to be decided, and much investigation and depositions to be done.

Another issue is the validity of the Death Penalty in Florida. The Supreme Court invalidated the procedure for the death penalty, and the legislature promulgated a new law for the procedure. That law was invalidated by a couple judges, but it was reinstated on appeal. The issue will reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court, and it may end up going back to the Supreme Court of the United States. Florida heard arguments in June, but has yet to rule.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Mark Sievers

Theresa Sievers

UPDATE: Mark Sievers has been arrested for the murder of his wife, Dr. Theresa Sievers.

A warrant for the arrest of Mark Sievers was issued this afternoon. NBC-2 reports that deputies are at his home, now. Curtis Wayne Wright, one of two men charged in the murder of Dr. Theresa Sievers, entered a plea earlier today to second-degree murder, and prosecutors agreed to a 25-year sentence. The timing is likely not a coincidence, as Wright’s plea may have freed him up to talk to investigators… and that may have been the final evidence they needed to link Mark Sievers to the murder of his wife. We don’t have any details yet, but that is a very logical chain of events: the arrest on the same day as the plea deal is almost certainly related.

Jimmy Rodgers, the other man charged, just arrived in Lee County this week to face the charges, after being extradited from Missouri, where he was picked up.

The News-Press is reporting that Mark Sievers has been arrested, and that there is a substantial assistance (testifying) component to Curtis Wright’s plea deal.

Mark Sievers to Keep Custody of Children for Now

Theresa Sievers

After the release last week of documents implicating Mark Sievers in the death of his wife, Dr. Theresa Sievers, Florida’s Department of Children and Family Services [DCF] moved to remove their children from his custody. The hearing, known as a shelter hearing, began on Friday. The shelter hearing was continued from Friday until Monday for more evidence. At court today, the judge reviewed the documents from Curtis Wayne Wright’s murder case that implicated Sievers, but did not find sufficient evidence to take the children away at this time.

There is a high burden of proof for the State to be able to take someone’s children away, and the State can’t make it at this time. While there is suspicion around Mr. Sievers, there is not evidence of an actual threat to the children at this time. The judge said the State’s case is based on “probability and speculation” and that suspicions and concerns are not sufficient in a shelter case. However, the State can seek to shelter the children at a later time, as the status of the case changes.

Breaking: Allegations that Mark Sievers was Involved in Dr. Theresa Sievers’ Murder

Theresa Sievers

The PCA has been released and indicates that Theresa Sievers’ husband Mark has been implicated in the plot to kill her. He has not been charged at this time, the two acquaintances of his that traveled to Florida to allegedly commit the murder are in jail at this time. More to follow, The News-Press has details.  As does NBC-2, Mark Sievers is the beneficiary of nearly $5 million in life insurance for his wife. Fox 4 reports that Jimmy Rodgers’ wife says he confessed to the murder while lying in bed.

More to come in the near future, as more documents from the criminal case are released.

Curtis Wayne Wright Booked in Lee County Jail, 1st Suspect in the Theresa Sievers Murder

Curtis Wayne Wright’s Lee County Mug Shot

Curtis Wayne Wright was booked into the Lee County Jail last night, and is being held without bond. He was recently extradited from Missouri to face charges in the murder of Dr. Theresa Sievers, who was found killed in her Bonita Springs home, June 29. The other suspect who has been charged, Jimmy Rodgers, is serving a Federal violation of probation sentence, and will be brought down to Florida after he completes that sentence.

Wright’s arraignment is set November 16, though all that will happen then is he will enter a not guilty plea. In the meantime, the state could call a grand jury to consider an indictment for First Degree Murder, if the evidence supports it: which could lead to a possible death sentence. Sometime after the arraignment, the discovery will be released, which will finally make more of the details public record.

Sievers Murder Suspect Curtis Wayne Wright to be Extradited to Florida

Missouri held an extradition hearing today, and granted Florida’s request for Curtis Wayne Wright to be extradited to stand trial for the murder of Dr. Theresa Sievers in a Fort Myers court. Wright ended up waiving his extradition fight, though it is unlikely he could have defeated the request.

Curtis Wayne Wright and Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers

The case is a long way from going to trial, if it does, and this is an early step in the process. It also means that we are closer to being able to see the discovery documents on the case that will shed more light on the case against Wright and his co-defendant, Jimmy Rodgers, who is serving a Federal sentence before his extradition issue is heard.

Both Sievers Murder Suspects were in Florida at the Time of the Murder

Curtis Wayne Wright & Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers

Wink News is reporting that the Sheriff’s office has confirmed that not only was Jimmy Rodgers in Florida at the time of the murder (though, not at his brother’s graduation, as he apparently told his employer,) but Curtis Wayne Wright was in Florida with him. Apparently they were both confirmed to have gone to a local Wal-Mart, and may have purchased something related to the crime, though the Sheriff is still mum on what that may have been.

That puts both suspects in Florida, though Curtis Wright’s attorney in Missouri has denied that his client had anything to do with the crime, saying the evidence will show Wright did not participate in the crime. He hasn’t been convicted yet, but the circumstantial evidence is damning: he’s the connection between Sievers and Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers, and now we know he traveled to Florida with Rodgers at the time of the murder. That doesn’t prove his guilt, but there is a lot of smoke not to have a fire.

Full Coverage of the Sievers murder case.