Snapped: Women Who Murder - Teresa Rodgers

Episode Date: January 30, 2022

An investigation into the suspicious shooting of a delivery truck driver, with the Sunshine State shrouded in darkness.Season 24, Episode 21Originally aired: January 20, 2019Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WsLCJWqmIebSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wonder East Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. She was a divorced mother looking for another shot at love. She was a cute little petite girl, like to have fun. She met a smooth-talking salesman who promised her the moon.

We had a magnetic personality, a sweet talker. He was definitely a ladies' man. Beautiful couple together, they were in love with each other. But one April afternoon, their perfect union comes to a sudden and terrifying end. I'd pull that sheet back, he's cold as ice. I heard the word suicide mentioned. As detectives dig into the mysterious death, they will expose scandalous secrets, secrets that will lead them to an unlikely, but lethal alliance.

I knew that he knew more than what he was telling me. I said, I didn't know nothing about a gun. I don't know what you're talking about. There were videos they had made of their escapades. There were multiple people, different partners. None of us knew that. It was even a lifestyle that they were living. I received an anonymous phone call. It was a man voice on the other end, wanting to meet me. And he said, you got to come alone. He said, what's going to happen to me if I tell you something?

I said, depending on what you tell me. Did you take a weapon? No, sure, I did not take a weapon. Did you see a weapon? I didn't see anything. I didn't look for anything. It just knocked me right in the gut. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just after 2.30 p.m., a call comes into the Volusia County 9-1-1 dispatch center. The man on the line is John Whitten. He says he's just found his brother-in-law, 48-year-old Phil Rogers, lying unconscious in bed. I know it's a little blotterings now. So that made me think he's had an aneurysm. I said he's dead.

As John stays on the line with the 911 operator, first responders race to the scene. When first responders arrive, they see John standing alongside Phil's stepdaughter Jessica. She's crying and they both seem really upset. Inside, first responders confirm Phil Rogers is in fact dead, but as they examine the body, they discover something even more unsettling. They found the bullahoe was just below the crown of the top of the head. So now you're thinking, okay, well, maybe to suicide, is someone coming and remove the gun?

As that possibility hangs in the air, detectives from the Deland Police Department head to the scene. What they're about to discover will not only raise questions about Phil Rogers' death, but spawn a slew of suspicions about the people in his inner circle. It was almost like a dream. You know, like I didn't understand what was going on. We all have dark secrets,

and I want everybody to see the real story, but really happen. Far from the palm trees and mild sunny winters of central Florida, The The The The The The The The The The The The The

The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The

The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The

The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The the The The The The The the The The the He got married, he had a daughter and a son named Cheyenne, but the marriage didn't last. Following the divorce, Phil wanted a fresh start. Looking to escape the cold winters of East Peoria for good, Phil headed to Florida's Sunkissed Atlantic Coast. My father moved away from Illinois when he had to believe us five or six years old, and we talked frequently guest Atlantic coast. My father moved away from Illinois when I do believe us

five or six years old and we talked frequently on the phone. I would go down there for either Christmas or he would come up. Phil settled in the cozy community of DeLand, midway between Orlando and Daytona Beach. Once settled in, Phil landed a job driving a food delivery truck. They sold ice cream, different foods to beverages. You know, it was more of a door-to-door sell throughout. If you seen them, you flagged them down.

They would make their rounds to see if you needed anything. Charismatic and friendly, Phil was a natural salesman. I don't care what you say. He could talk to you and to buy an ice. If it was not good for you, he could sell it to you. He always worked six days a week. It seemed like 52 weeks out of the year. He never really took vacation.

It was always work, work, work. He was determined to be the number one salesman in the southeast, and he was doing pretty well. When Phil wasn't working, he enjoyed his favorite pastimes, drinking ice cold beer, watching NASCAR, and generally having a good time. From my father, he loved Delanert, kind of looked like him too.

Phil was a funny guy. He was fun to be around with. You'd have a good time being around him. He could go to sleep holding a can of beer straight up. When he woke up, he could drink it, because he didn't turn it over. When it came to women, Phil was equally as skilled. He had a magnetic personality. He was definitely a ladies man.

One of Phil's customers was so charmed by Phil that she introduced him to her daughter, 30-year-old Teresa Puckett. Teresa was tan and pretty, a Florida girl born and raised. She was a cute little petite girl, you know? She liked to have fun, and so they just hit it off. Teresa grew up in D'Land. One of four kids, she was the rebel in the family.

Trisa was mischievous, she would push to the limit. There was times that I took a lot of whippings forward to cover up for her. When she graduated high school, Teresa got a job at a commercial greenhouse. There, she found a steady paycheck and eventually, a husband. She was a secretary at one of the firm growers. That's actually how she met her first husband.

He was quite a bit older than her. She was pretty much young when he married her. When it first started out, everything was real good. Teresa and her husband had two kids together, Jessica and Josh. With his rembunctious spirit, Josh took after his mother. He was fun. He had a great personality. I mean, I think he had that head strongness, you know?

After 10 years of marriage, Teresa's romance with an older man lost its lustre. She filed for divorce and moved out. Her son, Josh and daughter Jessica continued to live with their father. She had visitation and you know she had holidays and things and they were over at her house all the time. Now single and only seeing her kids on weekends and holidays, Teresa struggled to find purpose in her life. She was kind of lost. She didn't want to be with her ex, but she didn't want to be alone.

Then, in the early 90s, when Teresa's mother introduced her to fill Rogers, she was immediately smitten. And the pair soon started dating. Neither one of them wanted to be alone, and that they both were just like to have fun. And he was nice. He worked hard and he, you know, everybody liked him. He dooted honor when they dated

and be put around a pedestal. It wasn't long before Phil asked Teresa to marry him. Teresa didn't hesitate. It was a cute wedding, you know, at the Grand Bly House. And she asked me to be the patron of honor. It was very pretty wedding. They were a beautiful couple together. She was very beautiful bride.

When they got married, you could see that they were in love with each other. It was good for him and good for her. Following the wedding, Phil and Teresa did their best to make Josh, Jessica, and Phil's son, Cheyenne, feel welcome in their home, especially during the holidays. I mean, they went nuts when it come time for Christmas.

Christmas tree with 3,000 lights. He spent all that time putting him lights on here. She couldn't put him up because she didn't get him straight enough. He had to do it all. My dad had to have the biggest Christmas tree. We're talking eight foot ceiling with a had to have the biggest Christmas tree. We're talking eight-foot ceiling, what they tend to have for Christmas tree.

Phil, Teresa and their children celebrated the next decade of Christmases together. By 2004, Teresa was now 42, and Phil was 48. Phil's son, Cheyenne, had moved to Florida, while Teresa's children, Josh and Jessica, also lived nearby. As for the couple's relationship, Phil still treated Teresa like a queen. They had a nice home and he constantly showered her with gifts and jewelry and she was his trophy wife. I don't think I ever seen him love anyone else as much as he loved her.

But on April 20th, 2004, Phil and Teresa's love story comes to an abrupt end. I walked into the house. There were some police officers in a room. I heard the word suicide mentioned. Some people just want to guess the things. My nature is to look at everything and then make my determination to find out

where the UFO was a suicide. Coming up, a closer look at the crime scene brings forth a new theory. Then the left hand is going to go numb and probably not dropped away. It did drop. And if so, where's the gun? And bizarre behavior makes detectives question

an unexpected suspect. I'd never been on that side of the law. April 20, 2004. Florida first responders have just discovered Phil Rogers dead in his master bedroom with a single gunshot wound to the head. When you have somebody that's died of a gunshot especially to the head, there's always a thought, well, maybe a suicide.

You just start collecting as much evidence as you can. And then you just start to get a shot of the dead. And then you just start to get a shot of the dead. When you have somebody that's died of a gunshot, especially to the head, there's always a thought, well, maybe it's suicide. You just start collecting as much evidence as you can. As police processed the scene, word of Phil's death soon reaches his wife, Teresa Rogers, who's currently being cared for at nearby West Volusia Hospital. Teresa had been admitted to the hospital two days earlier.

She was recovering from a minor surgery, and she was supposed to be released the following day. I remember looking at her in the bed and Phil had given her flowers, and she was holding on to the base of flowers. And she was saying, you know, what happened, what happened? I can't believe this has happened, what happened. And I just remember trying to calm her down.

While Teresa's sisters tried to comfort her, investigators with the Deland Police Department are assessing the scene at the Rogers residence. Almost immediately, they hear whispers that the 48-year-old Phil may have taken his own life. Phil got to where he drank pretty heavy, and he was always aggravated when he was drinking. I figured what he'd done is you got ticked off

and got to drink it and pull that good. As much as he drank, I thought, well, maybe he could have, you know. But as Detective Richard Rockburn studies the scene, he begins to question the notion that Phil Rogers took his own life. Where the bullahoe was just below the crown of the top of the head and right below it, pretty much in the center, you know, that's not a normal place to shoot yourself if you're going to do it yourself. And why would his arms still be underneath the pillow?

You know, so if he shot himself with the left hand, then the left hand is gonna go numb and probably not dropped away, it did drop. And if so, where's the gun? Some people commit suicide by using carigs loss, some by taking pills, whatever, but if it's a firearm, the firearm's still gonna be there.

Pretty much, you're going to rule out suicide if you don't find a weapon. Now, suspecting foul play, investigators searched the rest of the Rogers' home for clues about the crime. Everything is in order. Everything is immaculate except for the kitchen. There was some change in different things

on the countertop. And there was a couple of drawers that were left open in the kitchen. And I thought it may have been planned that way. So the kitchen seemed to catch my eye. Was the killer looking for something in Phil and Teresa's kitchen? If so, what?

There were no signs of force entry. It didn't look like the home had been ransacked, but if the killer was looking for something, it looked like they knew exactly where to find it. Investigators turned to the two people who were present when police first arrived at the scene. Phil's 17-year-old stepdaughter, Jessica Puckett, and his brother-in-law, John Whitting.

They find John on the front lawn trying to consult Jessica. She put her hand up on the tree and leaned against and started crying. And she cried, she cried, and I tried hugging her. I tried to help her. She was so upset. Jessica tells detectives that her mother had asked her to feed the dog while she was in the hospital. Jessica says she fed the dog and I looked like Phil was sleeping in the master bedroom. Jessica says that after she fed the dog, she left the house, where she ran into her uncle, John Whitton. She was standing outside the front yard near the tree when I got there.

She said she'd been in the feed the dog, but she said she hadn't went in his room. She wanted a stirred field. So I told her, I said, you stay outside. I'll go back in and check on you. I'll come back and let you know. Investigators are curious to know what brought John over to his brother-in-law's house that day. Kathy, my wife had called me, and she's the one that trees had called and asked if I could go over to check on him. Phil is supposed to have a dental procedure done that morning like a root canal or something. And so when she wasn't able to get a hold of,

she called me to see if my husband would go by there. John tells detectives that when he walked in the bedroom, everything seemed to be in order. Nothing looked to be out of place. So I walked in to the inside of his room. I seen him leaned over, oh, growing beside the bed. Which made me a little curious. So I walked back over to him.

He had no shirt, just his shorts, laid over in the bed with his face turned down. I shook him, but when I did, I jumped back. He was cold, ice cold. John says he called 911 and headed outside. But before help arrived, he decided to go back into the house for another look. When I went back in there, I looked a little closer.

Then I realized that he'd been shot back ahead. I didn't know what to think I was numb. Once I realized what had happened, I didn't really know what to say to be truthful with you. It just happened so fast. But who would want to murder a kind outgoing husband and father like Phil Rogers? According to John and Jessica, Phil was well liked and had no enemies to speak of. However, John tells detectives that he and the rest of the family had

worried for years that someone might come after Phil for an entirely different reason. Every night after his shift Phil would come home with a large amount of cash from the day. John tells investigators he'd warned his brother-in-law to be careful. I said, you know, somebody could knock you in the head and take that money. I worried about it. I ain't worried about it. I said, you know, somebody could knock you in the head and take that money. I worried about it. I ain't worried about it. I had thought really somebody followed him home, and I thought they had robbed him.

Is John Whitten correct? Or did someone kill Phil for more personal reasons? Given the seemingly staged scene in the kitchen, investigators wonder if John himself might be responsible for the crime. Now, what is possible whoever killed Phil could have been after his money. But police also know that John could very well

be trying to throw them off his track. I did not know anything about these people. What investigators do know, though, is that someone knew how to get in and out of the Rogers' home without making forced entry. That's kind of suspicious. I didn't want to speculate, but automatically, my mind went to thinking it has to be an inside job.

It's a fact that only deepens the suspicion around Phil's brother-in-law, John Whitten. Detectives also notice that the longer they question John, the more agitated he becomes. John's showing signs of stress. He's looking a little suspicious. He said, I need to go look at your truck. I said, OK.

He pulls the seat out of the way. He scatters my tools there. I said, what are you doing? I said, don't scatter my tools. That made me angry. I was not happy in the position where I was at. I'd never been on that side of the law. They said we want you to go downtown with us

and ask a few questions. Coming up, police press John Whitton for more answers. I was scared. I was mad. And a shocking discovery raises even more questions about the murder of Phil Rogers. There were videos they had made of their escapades. They were apparently part of a swinging lifestyle.

It just knocked me right in the gut. None of us knew that. It was even a lifestyle that they were living. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could hang out with celebrities living a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean with all your best friends and have it be 100% paid for? FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried made that dream a reality, but U.S. prosecutors say he was hiding a dark secret.

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Follow Spellcaster, wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. The death of 48-year-old husband and father Phil Rogers has turned into a full-fledged murder investigation. With Phil's wife Teresa recovering from surgery in a nearby hospital, detectives have zeroed in

on Teresa's brother-in-law, John Widen, as a possible person of interest. John Widen is Phil's brother-in-law, and he was questioned at the scene by police. You seen angry and uncooperative. Investigators ask John to accompany them to the station for further questioning. They had me ride in the back of the car.

He was asking me. If you got something to tell me, you tell me now on the way to the station. It's once we get the station, ain't nothing I can do for you. I'm looking at him and I said, what are you going to say? I don't know. I don't know nothing. What are you going to tell you? Once at the station, detectives continue to press John. Right now we've got a person who, more than likely, had a bullet through his brain,

and we've got no murder weapon. And we did the final. Why did you take a weapon? And, sure, I did not take a weapon. Did you see a weapon? I didn't see anything. I didn't look for anything. Once I filled him cold like he was, I'd back that calorie.

The harder they push, though, the more John stands his ground. If somebody was to move anything and a crime scene like that, that would be a felony. That would be tampering. Right. I wouldn't do that. I and to crime scene like that. That would be a felony. That would be a tempering. Right. I wouldn't do that. I was mad. I was scared.

I don't remember telling him if I don't know nothing, dude. I don't know what you want me to tell you. I can't tell you something I don't know. I just ended up on the scene checking on my brother-in-law. After intense questioning, detectives are beginning to believe that John is telling the truth, but there's only one way to be sure. They took my hands and sprayed it with this stuff to see if there was any gun residue.

Pass me it about a shot of gun in the last five days. The GSR test comes back negative, giving police confidence that John Witten isn't the shooter. With John no longer a suspect, detectives revisit the theory that Phil Rogers may have been robbed. At the end of every workday, Phil essentially came home with a sack full of cash

from his deliveries. Investigators receive word from the crime scene that a full search of the Rogers home is complete. They also learn that officers there discovered an important piece of evidence. They found Phil's collection bag from work that day, and it was still full of cash and checks. The discovery shuts down the theory that Phil was robbed. However, officers on the scene also make another discovery, and this one holds a treasure trove of evidence.

They found this giant trunk that was full of sex toys and videotapes. It's the content of the videotapes that truly gets their attention. These tapes show Teresa and Phil having sex, but not just with each other. They're having sex with lots of different people. They were apparently part of a swinging lifestyle.

There were videos they had made of their escapades. There were other men involved, the other women possibly involved, so that peaked everybody's interest, obviously. With the discovery of the tapes, investigators are eager to talk to Phil's widow, Teresa Rogers. They head to the hospital where Teresa has been a patient for the past several days. I introduced myself to Teresa and she started crying. I took her face in my hands and I just looked at her. I said, listen, we're going to find out who did this. We're going to find out what's going to happen.

Detectives start by asking Teresa about the trunk full of tapes and toys, which catches both her and her sisters off guard. Then she started unveiling some things about being in the swingers stuff. sisters off guard. Then she started unveiling some things about, you know, being in the swingers stuff. I thought I was gonna throw up everywhere. It just knocked me right in the gut because none of us knew that was even a lifestyle

that they were living. That was just all shock. Teresa tells detectives that Phil was the one who'd initially suggested they explore the swing's lifestyle. At first it was fun, but Teresa says that over time, Phil's sexual entreaties became more frequent and began to look more like ultimatums than requests. There was multiple people, different partners.

She always had to be accessible to Phil and anybody that he brought over, whether she wanted to or not. She still loved him, but it wasn't the same. Their lifestyle, which we knew nothing about till everything was over, had come between them. Teresa explains there was another unintended consequence of her and Phil's sexual escapades, one that, from Teresa's point of view, wasn't all bad. She had fallen in love with one of the people that they were swingers with. They met through the swingers.

Phil brought him home, and it backfired on Phil. The man Teresa had feelings for was named Gary. He was very jealous. He didn't want her to see him anymore. And in fact, she had planned on moving out of the house. Phil told Theresa he would never give her a divorce, so he would not let her be with him. As investigators listen to Theresa's account,

they have to ask themselves, had Gary taken it upon himself to free Teresa from her unhappy marriage Might have been it was I would have been his motivation is to get rid of Phil Thinking he's gonna get Teresa After speaking with Teresa detectives head straight to the home of her lover Gary I went to his house and I told him who I was. Told me he was not under arrest. Basically, he said he was in love with her.

She was the love of his life. I was asked to swap his mouth for DNA. He signed a release for that. He was very cooperative. But despite his cooperation, Gary's demeanor gives detectives pause. He was very upset. He was sweating, very nervous.

And I knew that he knew more than what he was telling me. And I was just trying to pull it out of him. I would say, I can see you're nervous. Do you have something that you need to hide or that you're really afraid of? That's when Gary gets a call on his cell phone. We were standing outside talking, and Teresa had called him from the hospital.

Gary talks to her for a few minutes, and then hangs up. Then he explains to detectives that she just asked him to bring her something. She wanted Gary to bring her his hairbrush. And I thought that was strange. And I said to him, I said, you know what, this phone call with the hairbrush, it sounds to me like Teresa's trying to set you up.

That's when Gary breaks down and gives Detective Rockburn the information he's been pushing for. Gary said, well, what if I tell you something? What's going to happen to me if I tell you something? Depends on what you tell me. Gary said there were people planned on killing Phil. Coming up, Detective Zero-In on a surprising new suspect. I think I want to finish talking about this whenever I have a

longer brother. Just hours into the murder investigation of 48-year-old Phil Rogers, detectives in Delaand, Florida, have uncovered a secret relationship between Phil's wife Teresa and another man named Gary. Teresa and Phil were swingers, and Teresa had fallen in love with someone who they've been swinging with. While Detective Rockburn has Gary in the hot seat, an unexpected phone call comes in from Teresa. She's calling Gary when I'm still with him

to bring her his hairbrush. The detective tells Gary, it looks like she's trying to frame you for murder. I said, you're in love with Teresa so much, you're gonna be in prison and she's gonna be out here. That's when Gary admits he knows more than he's been letting on. Basically what he said was there were people planned on killing Phil. I says you need to come back to the police department with me.

Back at the station, Gary tells detectives that since February, he'd been spending a lot of time at Phil and Teresa's house, especially when Phil wasn't around. Obviously, Gary spent a lot of time with Teresa, but he also spent some time with her 18-year-old son Josh and his friends. Gary tells detectives that Josh's friends are 23-year-old Curtis Rhodes and 20-year-old Justin Tucker. According to Gary, starting back in February, the topic of conversation whenever they got together centered around one thing,

how unhappy Josh's mom Teresa was in her marriage to Phil. Teresa was miserable. She wanted out and she wanted to be with Gary. Gary tells them that divorce wasn't an option, not because Phil was playing hardball about it, but because the couple was deeply in debt. She had gone to her attorney, and her attorney told her, if you get divorced from Phil, you're still going to be liable and to pay your half of debts

that you guys incurred during your marriage. So that was not a way out for her. But if Phil died, Teresa could collect his life insurance. Gary tells them that Teresa, Josh, Justin and Curtis often brainstormed about ways to take fill out. They talked about robbing and shooting him while he was on his route. They talked about killing him while he was walking the dog. They even talked about killing him in a sleep.

Gary says he never participated in the talk, nor did he take it seriously. Gary said that he just blew it off his idle talk that they really wouldn't do it. Gary's statement opens up even more questions for detectives. Namely, did Theresa conspire with her own son to murder her husband? Detectives start by looking into the allegation

that Theresa and Phil were deeply in debt. They soon learn that Phil's tastes in particular far exceeded the family budget, especially when it came to cars. Phil went to the car dealership. There was a Dale Earnhardt edition of a Monte Carlo on the showroom floor, and he was a big Dale Earnhardt fan. He asked how much in the salesman said you can't afford that. Well, that was the wrong thing to say to Phil.

So he brought that car home. I believe the payment was like $750 a month. There was no way they could afford a mortgage payment and a car payment like that. According to financial statements, Phil and Teresa quickly fell behind on their house payment, and within a matter of months, it was in foreclosure. At this point, the only safety net Teresa had was Phil's life insurance policy.

Teresa was standing to gain anywhere from $677,690,000 in insurance. Between her love affair with Gary and the lucrative life insurance payout, it seems Teresa Rogers has ample reason to want her husband dead. There's no doubt that Teresa had a motive, but she was in the hospital on the day that Phil was murdered. So she couldn't have fired the shots to kill her husband. Instead of going back to Teresa, detectives turned to her son, 18-year-old Josh Puckett. According to Teresa's lover, Gary, Josh had often helped his mother brainstorm ways

to get rid of his stepdad. I'm trying to talk to everybody. Who knows anybody, who knows anything, it's hard to hear anything, and so on and so forth. So I'll make sure you knew you weren't arrested, you're gonna handcust on, you can leave, at the worst open. Detectives ask Josh to describe his whereabouts on the day of the murder. Josh explains he had been visiting with friends at the time of the crime.

We just hung out and everyone was hanging out to like six o'clock in the morning without going to sleep. Josh claims he didn't know anything about Phil's death until his sister Jessica called him later that day. As far as his relationship with Phil, Josh says it was just fine. If you like your stepfather, yeah, no problem. Eager to find out if Josh is holding back, detectives play hardball. You know, we know the truth and everything here.

You know what we're asking is probably what we're getting to. Josh doesn't budge. Did you ever have any discussions about the death of your step dad before it happened? So what do you think, though? I think I want to finish talking about about this whenever I have a longer brother. Other than Gary Stateman, they didn't have any other evidence against Josh.

So they had to let him go. After releasing Josh, detectives seek out his friends, Justin Tucker and Curtis Rhodes. But before police contracts the two young men down, Detective Rockburn receives a mysterious call. I received an anonymous phone call. It was a man, voice on the other end, and wanted to meet me.

He said, you gotta come alone. If we see any other cops, we're not going to talk to you. I'm like, OK, I picked a place. I told him I says, meet me there at one o'clock. And I went to two other cops that I respect their talents and said, you need to hide. Don't be seen. You can't be seen, because that could get me killed.

Just before 1 p.m. on May 4th, Detective Rockburn arrives at the meeting spot, the parking lot behind a local Walmart wearing a wire and unsure if he's walking into an ambush. I'm looking for a escape route or exit routes. you try to cover all your bases. But you never know what you're getting into when you meet people. At precisely one o'clock, the mystery caller arrives. Just truck pulled in with three males in the front, and I didn't really know who they were.

As the men get out of the truck, Rockburn discovers that one of them is Theresa's son, Josh Puckett, along with his friend Justin Tucker. It was Josh and Justin, and the third guy had no clue who he was. He just stood back like he was the muscle guy. That's what I'm thinking. So I kept my eye on him.

They were hesitant in first, but then they started talking. And they said, we want to confess because we can't sleep. One of them said that they had killed Phil. I just said, you know, you need to come down on the station and make a statement. Coming up, detectives learned the full scope of how and why Phil Rogers was murdered. I said, what did you do this for?

And he said $20,000 in a monitor car. And as the truth unfurls, the crime's real mastermind is finally revealed. They started turning on her. There was seven other cops with me now. They came out from a gun to trees. I told her to turn around. She was under arrest.

Do police have the right suspect in custody? Judge says I believe they do not want to pull the trigger. In a stunning twist on May 4, 2004, Teresa Rogers, 18-year-old son, Josh Puckett, and his friend, 20-year-old Justin Tucker, confessed to killing Josh's stepfather, frozen food salesman, Phil Rogers. They said they can't sleep. I asked them how they did it, and they said it was a gunshot. Detective Rockburn escorts Justin and Josh

back to the police station. They go back to the station. Justin and Josh are separated, and they are both individually questioned. According to Josh, the seeds of this conspiracy were planted a few months earlier, when his mother told him that her marriage to Phil was on the rocks. Josh says as his mother confided in him, it wasn't the couple's money woes that concerned him. wasn't the couple's money woes that concerned him. She had told Josh that he had been physically abusive

whether he said he did see bruises. Teresa is telling her son that Phil is abusive. Then it became, wouldn't it be great if Phil was just gone? We'd have all this money. I'd end up with Gary. Josh tells detectives that eventually another one of his friends, 23-year-old Curtis Rhodes, offered to help Theresa out.

Apparently Curtis Rhodes approached a couple of people about killing Phil, but those conversations they never win anywhere. Then, according to Josh, a few weeks back at the beginning of April, his mother offered to pay a large sum of money if Josh would kill Phil himself. I said, what did you do this for? And he said $20,000 in a month of car. Josh says he agreed, and they asked Justin Tucker to help. Josh says his mom believed her upcoming hospital stay would provide the perfect opportunity

for them to commit the murder. Teresa gave them a key to her and Phil's house, and on the night of April 19th, Josh and Justin put the plan into action. Teresa has Phil take a sleep until that night, so that he would really be out. Teresa had talked to Phil, that that night and Phil told her, yeah, I did take it.

Dan information from Teresa was related to Justin Tucker and Josh Puckett. Around 130 in the morning, Josh and Justin arrived at the home. Josh tells police that he took on the job of comforting the couple's dog. The dog didn't like Justin. So Josh had a hold of dog.

Josh says while he was holding the dog, Justin entered the bedroom where Phil was sleeping. And Josh says a few moments later he heard a gunshot. At that point, Josh and Justin, they flee the scene. And they end up driving to the St. John's River, where they tossed the gun. to the St. John's River where they tossed the gun. I says, was it worth it? And he goes, no. And he ladies had down on his arm or the table.

In a nearby interview room, Justin Tucker tells a similar story to investigators, except for one crucial detail. Justin says, yeah, I helped in this murder, but I didn't pull the trigger. to investigators, except for one crucial detail. Justin says, yeah, I helped in this murder, but I didn't pull the trigger. He says Josh did. There were plenty of fingers at each other

as to who actually pulled the trigger. It didn't really matter. They both admitted to taking part in the crime, and they were both placed under arrest and charged with murder. With the confessions of Josh Puckett and charged with murder. And I told her to turn around, she was under arrest for the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the murder of the

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And she started crying. I guess I'll never forget I was coming out of Walmart. And my mom called me and said, you need to get over here right now. They've picked up Teresa. I was more shocked that Joshua would be involved in that, you know. I mean, he's just a young kid. The arrest of Teresa and Josh for Phil's murder

isn't the only shocking revelation. The abuse allegations lobbed at Phil take those closest to him by surprise. I have a hard time believing that. I never want so my father get physically abusive. As for Teresa, she refuses to admit any wrongdoing. That is, until she realizes a jury trial and subsequent guilty verdict might land her on death row. Teresa did not want initially to make any sort of confession, but this is first-degree murder,

and we still have the death penalty in Florida. They started turning on her, and once she was faced with all that evidence, she did finally take the plea deal. Teresa ultimately pleads no contest to solicitation and conspiracy to commit murder, armed robbery, and second-degree murder. Josh Puckett and Justin Tucker also take deals.

They plead to second-degree murder, solicitation and conspiracy, and armed robbery. In February 2006, they are each sentenced to 25 years. However, at the last minute, there's yet another surprise twist. At the sentencing, the judge had asked Josh, did you pull the trigger and he said, no, sir, I did not. When he asked Justin, that Justin hung his head. The judge takes Justin's reaction as a sign that he is, in fact, the trigger-man. In turn, he reduces Josh Puckett's sentence from 25 years to 20. And the judge says, you know, just from the demeanor of everything,

I believe that you're not the one who pulled the trigger. That same month, 43-year-old Teresa is sentenced to 40 years in prison. A sentence twice as long as her son's. Does she need to pay the price for what she's done absolutely? But to give somebody four years for that, when you were not even in there and it's never been proved that you were even the mastermind behind it. That's a lot of years to give to somebody. For those closest to Phil and Teresa, the lingering question will always be, why? Why did you guys need other people instead of cherishing each other? You know, it's just questions like that. We'll never be answered.

We still have their picture in our living room, and from time to time I do stop and look at it and wonder if things could have been a lot different. For the better, there were no winners. Teresa Rogers is scheduled to be released from prison on March 27, 2040. She will be 78 years old. In February 2006, Curtis Rhodes pled guilty to solicitation to commit murder. He was sentenced to two years, eight months in prison. For more information on snapped, go to oxygen.com

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