Judge approves separate trial for Jimmy Rodgers in Teresa Sievers murder case

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A judge ruled in favor of a co-defendant in the Sievers murder trial after Jimmy Rodgers requested a separate trial from Mark Sievers.

Rodger’s lawyer argued that severing Rodgers and Sievers was necessary because they have “antagonistic defenses, and due to the complexity of the issues and evidence involved in the case.”

According to the report, in this case, there is a risk that the jury would be influenced by evidence that applied to only one defendant, and there is a high probability that the jury would convict both defendants solely based on the fact that they were charged and tried together.

Both defendants are still on the docket for trial October 1.

MORE: Judge sets October date for Teresa Sievers murder trial

Teresa Sievers was found bludgeoned to death inside the kitchen of the couple’s Bonita Springs home in June 2015. Investigators believe Mark Sievers, who pleaded not guilty to his original charges, planned the killing and promised Wayne Wright, his childhood friend, payment for carrying out the plan.

Wright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and in a plea deal is expected to help prosecutors in the case.

Jimmy Rodgers faces first-degree murder for killing Sievers with a hammer at her Bonita Springs home in 2015.

Rodgers and Sievers have pre-trial conference hearings scheduled for Thursday.

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