LOS ANGELES — A 36-year-old man was sentenced today to 26 years to life in state prison for killing a woman with a hammer and burying her body in his backyard, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
On Sept. 24, 2018, a jury found Jackie Jerome Rogers of Lennox guilty of one count of first-degree murder.
Deputy District Attorney Allyson Ostrowski said the jury also found true a special allegation that the defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a hammer, during the commission of the crime.
Rogers killed Lisa Marie Naegle, 36, by beating her at least eight times with a hammer as they sat in his car on Dec. 18, 2016, the prosecutor said. According to evidence presented in court, the defendant then took her back to his home, buried her in his backyard and hit her two more times with the hammer to ensure she was dead before covering her body with dirt and manure.
Rogers then attempted to cover up the crime by disposing of all the victim’s belongings, washed her blood and tissue off the murder weapon and his car, the prosecutor added. The victim and defendant were in a romantic relationship.
Naegle was a contestant on the E! Entertainment Television series “Bridalplasty” in 2010.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, Harbor Division.
