Forensic evidence examined on Day 4 of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ capital murder trial

MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Testimony in the capital murder trial of Frederic Rogers examined forensic evidence throughout the day on Friday.

Rogers, 26, is charged alongside John Legg with killing seven people in Valhermoso Springs in June 2020. The victims were, William Zane Hodgin, 18; Jeramy Roberts, 31; James Benford, 22; Roger Jones Jr., 19; Emily Payne, 21; Tammy England Muzzey, 45; and Dakota Green, 17. A dog also was killed at the home, investigators said.

The judge told the jury, who was sworn in on August 19, that the trial was likely to last into mid-September.

Rogers could face the death penalty if convicted.

On Thursday, the court watched an interview with Rogers conducted by the FBI in Oregon in June of 2021. Rogers provided details of the killings and explained how they had gotten to Oregon. Thursday’s testimony wrapped up with FBI Agent Ryan Hall returning to the stand for cross-examination by defense attorney Carl Cole.

Friday began by calling Nicholas Drake, a firearms examiner with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, to the stand. He described how rifling inside the barrel of a gun creates uniquely identifiable marks on a bullet when fired. These are just one characteristic firearms examiners use to determine if shell casings belong to a particular gun.

Drake explained firearms have three types of characteristics: class, sub and individual. He told the court that his job is to photograph, examine and function teat the firearms he receives. Law enforcement collected 48 bullets at the scene and 37 were sent to Drake for comparison.

After a break for lunch, Drake explained to the court that 15 bullets were conclusively fired from one of the two Taurus pistols, and 10 from the other. The other bullets did not have conclusive results, seven could have been fired from either Taurus pistol but not the H&K, and five could have been fired from the H&K but not either Taurus.

Forensic Biology Section Chief Gina Peterson from ADFS took the stand after Drake was dismissed. She described the DNA swabs she took from several items at the scene, including firearms and a gas can.

More than one person’s DNA was found on at least two of the three pistols. The majority of the samples found on the H&K pistol belonged to Rogers. The minority sample was too small to determine who it belonged to.

News 19 Reporter Kayla Smith is in the courtroom this morning to provide live X.com trial coverage.

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