FORT MYERS, Fla. (Court TV) — Jimmy Ray Rodgers, one of three men convicted of murdering Dr. Teresa Sievers, took the witness stand in a Florida courtroom to tell a Lee County judge that it was not a conspiracy at all — and that Mark Sievers had no involvement in his wife’s death.
On Tuesday, Rodgers testified during Mark’s post-conviction relief hearing that Teresa’s death was actually an impulsive act by Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., the State’s star witness against Rodgers and Mark. Prosecutors previously argued at trial that Mark masterminded his wife’s murder for insurance money and custody of their daughters.
Jimmy Ray Rodgers testifies in the post-conviction relief hearing for Mark Sievers on Oct. 14, 2025. Rodgers was convicted of murdering Dr. Teresa Sievers. (Court TV)
Rodgers was sentenced to life in prison for the 2015 hammer attack. Mark was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy and sentenced to death. Wright, who was Mark’s longtime friend, took a plea deal and received a 25-year sentence in exchange for his testimony.
Court TV’s Trial Archives | FL v. Jimmy Rodgers: Hammer Hitman Murder Trial
On Tuesday, Rodgers testified he first met Mark at Wright’s wedding in May 2015, describing an immediate dislike for the man. Rodgers characterized Mark as someone who tried to one-up others in conversation, recalling how Mark would interrupt conversations about cars and motorcycles with self-aggrandizing remarks. Rodgers also testified that Wright claimed he and Mark had a romantic relationship that dated back to their teenage years.
According to Rodgers’ account, he and Wright traveled to Florida in June 2015 for what he believed was a legitimate work trip. Wright had told him they would be doing computer work and painting at the Sievers’ home. Rodgers said he brought painting supplies and told multiple people about the Florida trip, including his employer and then-roommate Taylor Shomaker.
Rodgers said the plan went awry when Wright confused the timing of their visit, arriving at the home when the family was supposed to be away. Instead, Teresa returned home that evening while Rodgers and Wright were waiting in the driveway around 10:30 pm that. Rodgers said Sievers immediately approached Wright and asked pointedly, “What are you doing here?”
Court TV’s Trial Archives | FL v. Mark Sievers: Hammer Killing Murder Trial
Wright and Rodgers followed Teresa into the garage, where the argument between Wright, who allegedly had been on a methamphetamine binge and behaving erratically, and Teresa grew heated. Teresa told Wright he was fired, lambasted the quality of his work and told him she was going to hire somebody local to handle the family’s IT work.
“She’s screaming at him, and it was during this exchange that Curtis keeps saying that it’s his TBI, and trying to take no responsibility, essentially…[that] he picked up a hammer that was within arm’s reach and struck her with it,” Rodgers recounted.
Teresa then ran into the home and attempted to get her phone, but Wright gave chase and, after a brief struggle, threw her down on the ground by using her hair “like a shotput” and continued to strike her with a hammer, Rodgers said.
“He puts his hand on her back and starts striking her in the back of the head with a hammer, over and over and over and over again,” Rodgers recounted. “I had already been screaming, ‘stop, stop, stop,’ but by that time, despite this little, small quick engagement that happened, she was already pretty well dead.,” Rodgers said Tuesday.
Rodgers said Wright then launched an impromptu cover-up, telling Rodgers, “We got to make this look like a break-in or a burglary gone wrong,” and began scattering Teresa’s luggage around the garage.
Mark Sievers appears in court for his post-conviction relief hearing Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Court TV)
Rodgers acknowledged that he had tried to wipe away any fingerprints that could have left evidence of his presence inside the Sievers’ residence, attributing this to his own panicked state of mind and fear of reprisal from Wright.
“I used my shirt to wipe my fingerprints off the garage door button. I wipe my fingerprints from the handlebars of the motorcycle, at which point I discovered I was alone in the garage.” Rodgers said.
“As I walked into the home, I observed Curtis Wayne Wright leaned over Teresa Sievers’ dead body, calling her names, calling her a bitch, and continuing to hit her head with a hammer. At which point in time, as soon as I walked in and seen this, I told Wayne, my exact words, ‘F**k this. I’m out of here.'”
During the 16-hour drive back to Missouri, Rodgers said Wright’s demeanor was volatile, vacillating constantly between anguish over the killing and calling it, as Rodgers put it, a “fun game of whack-a-mole.” Wright made explicit threats against Rodgers and his girlfriend if they went to the police and bragged about other murders he had committed, Rodgers said in explaining why he didn’t go to the police to try to clear his name.
On cross-examination, the prosecution suggested Rodgers had an incentive to change his story to help his own pending post-conviction motion. Rodgers acknowledged he hopes to win a new trial through his own legal proceedings but maintained his testimony was consistent with what he had told his attorneys since 2016.
Rodgers was asked Tuesday afternoon why he didn’t call the police and report the murder when he got back to Missouri. “Because of the numerous threats that he’s made against my life, I [found] them very credible after just witnessing him murder somebody with a hammer,” Rodgers replied.
With testimony over, the case now moves to paper; a court reporter will prepare transcripts of this week’s evidentiary hearing, then the parties will have 30 to 45 days from that point to submit written closing arguments before Judge Kyle issues his final ruling on Mark’s bid for a new trial.
The post-conviction relief effort is Sievers’ latest attempt to overturn his conviction and death sentence. Previous appeals to the Florida Supreme Court in 2022 were unsuccessful, and a prior request for a new trial was denied in 2020.
This story was reported by John Cowley IV and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
