Jury Faces Gory Evidence in Dismemberment Trial

The trial of former nurse Richard W. Rogers for killing and dismembering two gay or bisexual men is scheduled to begin this week with jury selection, which is expected to take longer than usual due to the gory nature of the evidence that prosecutors will present.

Jurors will have to examine photos of severed arms and legs, decapitated heads and mutilated genitals of four men. Rogers is charged with the murders of only two of the victims, but evidence from all four murders will be allowed, Judge James N. Citta ruled.

"It is bizarre. It is unique. It's chilling," Judge Citta said in his ruling. "I don't know if that's a legal term, but that's what it is."

"The word 'bizarre' doesn't even begin to describe the evidence in this case," said Ocean County prosecutor William J. Heisler.

Rogers is charged with murdering two of the men, dismembering their bodies and leaving their body parts in plastic bags near highways in two different New Jersey counties. He was charged with the crimes after his fingerprints were found on the plastic bags, police said.

Rogers' fingerprints were on file in a 1973 Maine case in which he was accused of beating his college roommate to death with a hammer. He was found not guilty in that case after claiming self-defense.

See Also:
Gory Details Await Jurors in Rogers Trial
Trial to Begin of Former Maine Man

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