Guilty verdicts for murders of Chester County grandfather, great-grandmother bittersweet for family
CHESTER, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It’s a bittersweet moment for the Rogers family. Their family member, Gene Alexzander Scott, is going to prison for 60 years for killing two loved ones in 2020 in a plot for money.
They say after four long years, they’re finally able to fully grieve for their brother Gene Rogers, and the matriarch of their family, Billie. They were 61 and 78 at the time of their deaths.
“We the jury unanimously find the defendant on the charge of murder of Billie Rogers, guilty. We the jury unanimously find the defendant on the charge of murder of Gene Rogers, guilty,” the clerk read Thursday evening in the Chester County Courthouse.
When the guilty verdicts were read to the court, Scott only slightly shook his head. For the murder convictions of his grandfather and great-grandmother, he was sentenced to two 60-year prison sentences to run concurrently without the possibility of parole.
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Scott took the stand Thursday morning to testify about where he was during the day of the murders on June 20, 2020.
He says his only involvement was finding his grandparents shot to death on Father’s Day that year. And on the day of the murders, he was with his friend Ian having a secret romantic rendezvous in his Columbia apartment.
After the verdict, he was still adamant he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger.
“I did not kill my grandparents and I never would,” Scott told the courtroom. “One day we all will die, and I hope there’s a God so you can all ask me if I did it. And I hope you choke on that answer when he tells you I did not. Don’t give me any leniency because it’s not going to be given anyway. Throw me in prison and lock away the key if that makes you all happy.”
Paul Rogers, Gene’s brother, says the last four years have been a trying time for the entire family.
“Hearing guilty, guilty, guilty. When in my heart, I already knew that it was,” Rogers said. “It made the whole family hurray for justice.”
The family wore “Justice for Gene and Billie Rogers” pins to court for the verdict and sentencing. The pins were made over a year ago to keep their memories alive.
Rogers says June is a tough month for the family, but they get through it.
“I need them to always people always remember that it wasn’t them that did a crime. It was a crime against them,” Rogers said.
Before the sentencing, family members gave the victim’s statements to the court. Rogers played two voicemails from his brother and mother. He says he wanted to make sure Scott heard their voices one last time.
“But that’s the only one I have from (Gene),” Rogers said. “And my mom, I have like 10 and I play him over when I need that lifting just to hear her voice. Because, you know, in time you start not hearing what they sound like. That’s all I have left.”
The defense motioned to set aside the trial and asked for a new trial. Counsel plans to appeal the verdict.
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