One of the three men charged in connection with the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers is on trial for the beloved physician’s brutal death. Day sic of the trial against Teresa’s husband, Mark Sievers, 51, started Wednesday inside a Lee County, Florida, courtroom.
Sievers is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. If found guilty of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty.
According to police, Sievers was the mastermind behind his wife’s murder. He’s accused of recruiting childhood friend, 51-year-old Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., to help carry out the gruesome crime. Wright is accused of recruiting Jimmy Rodgers, 51, a former jail cellmate, to help him.
On June 28, 2015, as Teresa returned home from a trip to Connecticut, she was bludgeoned to death with a hammer inside her Bonita Springs, Florida, home. Authorities said the murder was planned in advance.
Sievers knew his wife left the Connecticut family trip early for work purposes. Sievers stayed behind a few days longer with their daughters, ages 9 and 11 at the time. He’s accused of orchestrating the plan to have Wright and Rodgers at the home, ready to attack, before Teresa arrived.
Sievers was unhappy in his marriage, as reportedly evidenced inside Teresa’s journal, according to Naples News Days. Sievers also had money issues, while his wife had a $4 million life insurance policy, prosecutors previously said.
A few months after the murder, authorities arrested Wright and Rodgers. While both men initially denied any involvement, Wright eventually confessed in 2016 and took a plea deal for second-degree murder. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Sievers was arrested several months after the State Attorney released documents in December 2015, accusing him of hiring his co-defendants to kill his wife. Prosecutors said the motive was money from Teresa’s insurance policy.
Rodgers, who faced trial earlier this year, was convicted of second-degree murder and trespassing in October. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December.
[Feature Photo: Teresa Sievers, Mark Sievers/Handout; Police Handout
