10-Year Anniversary for my Crimcourts Blog

10 years ago I posted my first blog on here. 1,322 posts later we’re still going strong. Not as strong as I used to- I post much less frequently nowadays between keeping busy with the job and growing kids that have gotten involved in all kinds of activity. Thanks to everyone that has sent me post ideas over the years, I wish I could have written a post for all of them. WordPress tells me I’ve had over 285,000 page views and over 180,000 unique visitors, which is kind of crazy.

I thought the anniversary might be a good time for a little trip down memory lane.

My all time most viewed post was a legal update: “”Important Changes to Florida’s DUI Laws: Legistlative Update 2013“

Some of the more popular subjects over the years were Zimmerman, Amanda Knox, NFL Cheerleaders, and Ashley Toye (of the Cash Feenz cases). Also, the Sievers case got a lot of attention, though it didn’t seem to have the national appeal that drove up numbers on the others.

One of my favorite subjects was the shark trial, where a man claimed self-defense for taking a shark: “The Shark Trial Recap“

Self-defense has been one of the more interesting repeat topics we’ve discussed on crimcourts, probably in part due to timing. I started writing this not too long after the Stand Your Ground Law has been enacted, and the Florida courts have been a trying ground for that policy. Also, being Florida, we’ve seen self-defense claimed for Bears, the aforementioned shark, and even an iguana.

Sometimes I like to think it would be fun to do videos, but I really don’t have the time. I don’t have as much time as I’d like to spend on the blog, as it has been fun, but I’ll keep posting whenever I can find time so follow me here and on Twitter.

Mark Sievers to go in front of Judge Tomorrow for New Trial Hearing

Mark Sievers DOC photo

Attorneys for Mark Sievers have filed a motion for new trial after his conviction and death sentence in the death of his wife, Theresa Sievers. Sievers’ attorneys have alleged several issues to be heard at the motion for new trial. The strongest claim is probably the discovery of new evidence. The motion alleges that a newly discovered letter from Sievers’ neighbor Mark Petrites proves that Petrites misled the jury about the extent of his friendship with Sievers, and that the letter helps explain why his testimony was inconsistent over the course of the case.

If the court fines that the motion is supported by evidence and that there was prejudice from the issues, the judge could grant Sievers a new trial. This doesn’t mean he would be released or acquitted, it would mean that the trial would start over again, but only if the judge is persuaded that the issues raised in the motion prejudiced Mr. Sievers and to entitle him to a new trial. The motion will be heard in court tomorrow.

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

State to Seek Death in Sievers Murder

Mark Sievers & Jimmy Rodgers

Yesterday the State Attorney’s office filed a notice that they intend to seek the death penalty against Jimmy “The Hammer” Rodgers and Mark Sievers for the death of Sievers’ wife Theresa. That the state intends to seek the death penalty is not altogether surprising, as there are potentially several aggravating factors present that could justify the death penalty if proven, including the brutal nature of the killing, that it was premeditated, and that it was done for financial gain. On the other hand, the State has been unsuccessful in the last several attempts to seek the death penalty in Lee County.

Theresa Sievers

To further complicate matters, the death penalty is very much in flux in Florida. Florida just amended its death penalty procedure, after the previous procedure was rejected by the Supreme Court in the Hurst decision. The new procedure, which increases the number of jurors that must vote to recommend the death penalty to 10 of 12, instead of unanimously, has already been rejected by some circuit-level judges. That matter will certainly be reviewed by the State Supreme Court.

This also means that Mark Sievers will have to get another attorney on his legal team, as his current lawyers are not death-penalty qualified. They can still represent him, but he will need a death penalty lawyer to join the team. Also keep in mind, the State has flipped Siever’s friend Curtis Wright to have him testify in the other prosecutions.

Sievers and Rodgers had Court Today on the 1st Degree Murder Charges

Jimmy Rodgers, “The Hammer”

Mark Sievers and Jimmy Rodgers, who were recently indicted for 1st degree murder charges in the death of Dr. Theresa Sievers, had their most substantive court date so far on the criminal cases. Today’s hearing is a Case Management conference, basically a scheduling hearing to determine the progress of the case going forward. Sievers’ attorney waived speedy trial, and continued the case a couple months out- to July. Rodgers attorneys, however, declined to waive speedy trial yet, as no all of the evidence collected has been disclosed yet. The state indicated their investigators are still going through it. Rodgers is set for a pretrial conference next month: it is still likely his case will also be continued beyond that date, but the evidence is so voluminous that it hasn’t all been processed.

Mark Sievers

The 1st degree murder indictment means that the state can seek the death penalty. The judge asked the prosecutor if that was a possibility, and he indicated that they are still considering all options. That means they may decide to seek the death penalty. That’s a decision for a later date.

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.