ST. LOUIS 鈥 Two families gathered in a St. 亚洲无码 courtroom on Thursday, seven years after their loved ones died.
They left discouraged.
Megan Nieder and Joseph Finger were robbed and murdered in the city鈥檚 Carondelet neighborhood. Darnell Rogers was charged in 2020 after he told a relative in a recorded prison call to retrieve Nieder鈥檚 purse from his family鈥檚 basement and throw it out, court records say.
But the case dragged through the court system for more than four years, slogging through the COVID-19 pandemic and the end of former Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner鈥檚 chaotic tenure.
Families like Nieder鈥檚 complained that they never received case updates from overworked prosecutors when Gardner was in office. Cases were repeatedly delayed and shifted from one overworked prosecutor to another. Some were dismissed and re-filed.
People are also reading…
But on Thursday, with a trial set this month, the office of Gardner鈥檚 successor, St. 亚洲无码 Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, offered a deal: Rogers could plead guilty to eight felonies, including two counts of second-degree murder, in exchange for a 10-year sentence.
Family members called it 鈥渟hort and unjust.鈥
鈥淚t was not justice served,鈥 said Nieder鈥檚 sister, Cathleen Al Samaraiy.
Judge John T. Bird said the case was a 鈥渢ragedy,鈥 but it appeared the evidence was largely circumstantial. He said he would trust the prosecutor鈥檚 and defense attorney鈥檚 sentencing analysis.
鈥淚 will follow the recommendation,鈥 he said, 鈥渆ven though I don鈥檛 like it.鈥
Nieder, 27, and Finger, 40, were found fatally shot at around 1 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2017, near the intersection of Bellerive Boulevard and Minnesota Avenue.
Witnesses said Finger had thousands of dollars with him the night of the shooting. But police found no cash. They found a black purse strap that appeared to be Nieder鈥檚 鈥 but no actual purse. There were shell casings from two different guns at the scene, but police found no second shooter.
A few days later, Rogers,聽now 29, committed another robbery in St. 亚洲无码 County. He was sentenced in 2019 to 10 years in prison.
It was in prison in Bonne Terre that police received a break in the murder case: Rogers called a family member and instructed them to dispose of a black purse that was in his parents鈥 basement.
Police got a search warrant for the home and found the purse, which matched the strap at the crime scene and contained Finger鈥檚 DNA, according to court documents.
Rogers was charged in August 2020 with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of robbery and four charges of armed criminal action.
Rogers asked for a speedy trial 鈥 within 180 days 鈥 in January 2022 and again in 2023, according to court records. At one point, his attorney asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing the state violated his right to a speedy trial.
Instead, the case was repeatedly delayed, until this week, when all of the parties gathered in the courtroom again.
Nieder鈥檚 mother spoke about the pain of her loss 鈥 the way she missed her daughter鈥檚 infectious smile and love of animals and children. Her life since then has been a 鈥渓iving nightmare,鈥 she said.
She still didn鈥檛 really know what happened.
Neither did Finger鈥檚 sister, Kelley Christopher.
Christopher said it was a 鈥渞elief鈥 for the case to be over, but part of her wanted it to go to trial so she might learn more about what led to her brother鈥檚 death. The other shooter is still at large, she said, and she wants to know who did it.
鈥淚t hurts my heart to not ever know what happened,鈥 she said.
Judge Bird said he hoped Rogers would reflect on his actions while he was in prison. He will serve his 10-year murder sentence at the same time as the St. 亚洲无码 County robbery.
鈥淭his is just a tragedy,鈥 Bird said, 鈥渁nd you caused it.鈥
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Rogers is now 29 years old.