Sandra Rogers gets 61 years in prison for 2003 hammer attack
The sentence issued Thursday by a Lake County judge means Sandra Rogers will likely spend the rest of her life behind bars for trying to kill her ex-husband and his wife nearly a decade ago.
Judge John Phillips sentenced Rogers, now 56, to 61 years in prison for the May 19, 2003, attack on Rick Rogers and Angela Gloria in their Lincolnshire home.
Following the sentencing, the victims released a statement that read, “Rick and Angela and their family are thankful that justice has finally been served.”
A jury deliberated for three hours on Feb. 7 to find Sandra Rogers guilty on four counts of home invasion, two counts of attempted murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
Phillips sentenced Sandra Rogers to 24 years for the attack on Gloria, 22 years for the attack on Rick Rogers, and 15 years for conspiring with her daughter's ex-boyfriend in the plot.
Sandra Rogers, formerly of Mundelein, will receive about 10 years of credit for time served.
After her arrest, she accepted a plea deal of attempted murder and served about a decade in prison. But that deal was thrown out last year when Phillips ruled evidence was withheld from defense attorneys that led Sandra Rogers to admit her role in the crime.
The ruling paved the way for the trial that began Jan. 29.
During those proceedings, prosecutors proved Sandra Rogers forced Jonathon McMeekin, who was 17 at the time, to help her with the crime.
Prosecutors said Sandra Rogers broke into Rick Rogers' home through a basement window well and unlocked the sliding glass door to let McMeekin inside. McMeekin and Rogers went to the master bedroom to kill Rick Rogers and Gloria as they slept.
However, when Gloria heard a noise and opened the bedroom door, she was hit and knocked down. Rick Rogers got out of bed and attacked McMeekin, but was hit from behind by Sandra Rogers.
McMeekin testified he saw Sandra Rogers strike both victims with a sledgehammer. Both victims survived the attack.
McMeekin, now 26, has served about 10 years of the 20-year prison sentence he received after he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder for his role in the attack.
Gloria, Rick Rogers and daughter Robyn Rogers read impact statements to Phillips about the years of trauma they have endured.
Gloria said she looked in the mirror after the attack and “knew it was not me.”
“I had to go out in public looking like a train wreck,” she said. “I had to endure people's stares at my shaved, indented head.”
She said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has had numerous suicidal thoughts. She added the attack has “left me with lost interest, feelings of detachment and emotionally numb.”
In his statement, Rick Rogers said, “We're luck to be alive, although neither of us has felt lucky since that middle-of-the-night attack on May 19, 2003.”
Sandra Rogers refused to make a statement before being sentenced. Defense attorney Gillian Gosch said “Sandra Rogers is very sorry for what happened” but “still maintains her innocence.”