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In 2015, holistic doctor Teresa Sievers returned to her home from a family trip ahead of her husband and children in order to treat her parents. After arriving home and before leaving for work the next day, Sievers was murdered. Her story will be featured on tonight’s episode of 48 Hours.
The case originally seemed open and shut to investigators thanks to GPS technology, but it later turned out to be much more complicated. Three separate people have since been charged and sentenced in connection with the murder.
When Teresa Sievers’ husband Mark heard that she did not make it into work the next day, he asked a family friend to check on her in their apartment to see if she was home. When the friend went inside, however, they found Sievers dead on the floor. The alarm for the apartment had been disabled before Sievers arrived home.
Here’s what you should know about the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers:
1. Police Were Led to The Killers By GPS Technology
48 HOURS IN 48 SECONDS: A hammer is discovered at the crime scene, but clues to solving the murder of a Florida doctor come from a digital trail that leads investigators to the killer’s doorstep… https://t.co/8jXoY2OiPQ pic.twitter.com/BskgiVAAqb
— 48 Hours (@48hours) August 22, 2020
On Saturday, June 27, 2015, Jimmy Ray Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. rented a car and entered an address in Bonita Springs, Florida into the GPS. The destination was more than 17 hours away from their start according to CBS News.
Police say that Sievers was bludgeoned to death by Rodgers and Wright, and one of the main pieces of evidence leading to their later arrest was that GPS system.
“This is a case in which 21st-century technology became vital,” prosecutor Cynthia Ross told 48 Hours.
Investigators used the GPS system as well as data from cell phone towers and security camera footage.
2. Investigators Believe the Killers Were Recruited By Mark Sievers to Kill His Wife
Did a Florida man hire a look-a-like to kill his wife? A GPS leads police right to the hitman’s door — 1,100 miles away. Join us, tonight at 10/9c.https://t.co/2KuiUh7TrP
— 48 Hours (@48hours) August 22, 2020
Though Sievers claims he is innocent, a jury convicted him of hiring the men who killed his wife. According to police, Sievers recruited his childhood friend, Curtis Wayne Wright, Jr. to kill his wife.
They said that Wright then recruited Jimmy Rodgers, who was a former cellmate of his, to help him carry out the crime. Authorities say that the plan was made in advance, leaning on the fact that Mark and the children remained in Connecticut on vacation as Teresa headed home to work.
Prosecutors argued the motive had to do with his wife’s $4 million life insurance policy as well as a generally unhappy marriage.
Mark Sievers was charged with first-degree murder and the conspiracy to commit murder.
3. Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. Was Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
SATURDAY AT 10 P.M. ET/PT: Did a Florida man hire a look-a-like to kill his wife? A GPS leads police right to the hitman’s door. https://t.co/ogFltb3OdA pic.twitter.com/2Bp1Mi57mo
— 48 Hours (@48hours) August 21, 2020
Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. was 51 at the time of his sentencing. He’d previously agreed to a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Wright’s plea agreement required he provide substantial assistance to prosecutors against the two other subjects in the case.
“Your lawyer did a good job for you,” Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle told Wright after the sentencing, Naples News reported. “I don’t know if it was the position you were in was by luck or because it was pre-planned, but good luck to you.”
4. Jimmy Ray Rodgers Was Sentenced to Life in Prison
LIFE IN PRISON: Judge Bruce Kyle just sentenced Jimmy “the hammer” Rodgers to life in prison. Jurors convicted him of second degree murder in October for the 2015 killing of Dr. Teresa Sievers. #winknews pic.twitter.com/XODYYWH4wo
— Amanda Hall (@AmandaHallWINK) December 12, 2019
Jimmy Rodgers was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury convicted him of second-degree murder.
The jury agreed with the prosecution that Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright carried out the murder. The murder was committed less than a year after Rodgers was released from federal prison, according to WINK News.
Neither Rodgers or Mark Sievers testified during Rodgers’ trial. Rodgers chose not to speak on his own behalf, and the judge called it “one of the most horrific” crimes he ever tried.
5. Mark Sievers Was Sentenced to Death
A long-awaited sentencing gives survivors the chance to come face-to-face with their attacker, who eluded them for so long. Their voices are finally heard, tonight at 9/8c — only on #48Hours: https://t.co/PmP2LKmqjG pic.twitter.com/I4hb9qjJvd
— 48 Hours (@48hours) August 22, 2020
Jurors deliberated for just four hours at the Lee County Justice Center before returning with a guilty verdict, according to News-Press. They also recommended death.
After being found guilty of first-degree murder and the conspiracy to commit murder, Mark Sievers was sentenced to death for first-degree murder. For the second charge, he was sentenced to 30 years, to be served concurrently.
Prior to the sentencing, he’d served over 1,400 days in jail, which he was given credit for. An appeal was automatically filed on Mark Sievers’ behalf.
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