Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- A couple of touchy matters needed to be settled before jury selection began Wednesday in the trial of Christopher Erin Rogers Jr., the 29-year-old man accused of hacking his father and his father's fiancee with a machete, leaving him dead and her maimed.

Click to enlarge

Christopher Erin Rogers Jr.

Story tools

Comments (0)

E-mail a friend

Print

Share on Facebook

Digg this

Seed Newsvine

Send link via AIM

Follow on Twitter

Font size : A | A | A

That was before Rogers headed into Anchorage with a gun, according to police, and shot three strangers, killing one of them. But that's a different case.

In the Palmer courtroom Wednesday, the first issue was whether Rogers' attire should include shackles.

Then there was the question about his mother's little white dog.

Rogers is facing a string of charges in Palmer Superior Court, and even more in Anchorage, where he is accused of killing a college student warming up his car, and injuring two other random victims. The crime clusters took place almost exactly one year ago. The Anchorage case is scheduled for trial in January.

The restraint question was taken up first, with Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak expressing concerns for courtroom safety, and public defender John Richard questioning how shackles were going to look to jurors who are going to be seeing some bloody images.

Richard was fairly certain he knew the answer: Jurors are going to think "Hannibal Lecter," he said.

The safety concern stems from things that have tumbled out of Rogers' mouth since he's been in custody, including in March when corrections officers escorting him to see a visitor wondered out loud why he needed two guards plus cuffs and chains.

"Prisoner Rogers replied that he was a bad, bad man," Officer Robert Larson told Palmer Superior Court Judge Vanessa White. He said he gets turned on "from killing people."

He also said he'd like to kill an officer, Larson said.

In another incident, when reminded he wouldn't be able to touch the evidence during trial, he asked officer Timothy Adams: "What, are you afraid I'm going to hack you up?"

Right about then, Roger's mother, Sherry Kelly, walked into the courtroom toting a white poodle in a blue coat with matching toenails.

That didn't fly with the judge.

"A woman just came in the courtroom with a dog," Judge White said. "Ma'am?"

"I've got a medical note," Kelly said, holding a white envelope up for the judge to see.

"Is it a therapy dog?"

"Yes it is."

After a couple minutes of discussion, Kelly returned to her seat in the audience behind her son's defense team. The dog stayed. His name is "Lucky." It's written in rhinestones on his collar. Her son, now on trial for murder, rescued the dog, she explained. He found it abandoned along the Little Susitna River all matted and mangy and brought it home.

Lucky has been a great comfort, Kelly said. Because this past year has been "horrendous."

"I love my son with all my heart," she said.

She told him that whenever she got the chance, at every recess as officers led him out of the courtroom, whenever he looked her way:

"I love you, son," she said.

During one break, she asked if she could kiss him.

The answer was no. Not allowed.

UNDER A ROCK?

Back to the restraint issue of shackles.

Just because Rogers hasn't done anything dramatic since he's been in custody doesn't mean he won't act up during an emotional trial, the prosecutor argued.

"Before he cut up his dad and girlfriend and shot people in Anchorage, there were no major problems with him," Kalytiak said.

Restraints are "so unnecessary," replied the defense. He'll be sitting between two lawyers, Richard said. There'll be armed guards nearby.

White decided Rogers' comments were expressions of frustration rather than real threats. He's entitled to a presumption of innocence, she said, and it's her job to make sure he gets it.

So, no restraints.

Next came discussion of the real challenge ahead -- picking 12 jurors and three alternates who don't know too much about this highly publicized, sensational case.

"Unfortunately the process knocks out people who are informed, people that are avid readers, people that want to know what's going on," Kalytiak complained.

"Only if they've formed an opinion," said the judge, "or are incapable of setting their personal opinions aside."

How much can a potential juror know about the case and still be fair?

That's what both sides hope to sort out in the next day or so as jury selection, which started Wednesday, continues.

"How could they have not heard about it?" scoffed Rogers' mother. "Did you climb out from under a rock?"

Kelly said she doubts her son will get a fair trial. "Everybody talks, everybody knows. But doing what he did, you can't be in your right mind."

"I wish they'd open the gates today and let him out. But I know he's going to be in jail for the rest of his life, and that when I die he won't be at my funeral."

With that, she teared up and hugged Lucky close.

Find Debra McKinney online at adn.com/contact/dmckinney.

ADVERTISEMENT