- 2 days ago
In 1996, a small town was shocked when an 81-year-old man is found murdered in his home. Investigators uncover the horrifying truth: he had been murdered out of greed.
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00:00Emmett Township is a rapidly growing community of 12,000 people, located on the eastern border of Battle Creek, Michigan.
00:10They pride themselves on being a close-knit, safe haven.
00:16Which is why what happened on the morning of April 26th, 1996, was such a shock to the small town.
00:28That morning, Sharon Zachary went to check on Bob Rogers.
00:34She had been taking care of the 81-year-old man and rented a house down the street from him.
00:40Sharon was worried. She hadn't heard from Bob all morning.
00:48When Sharon saw his car at the side of his house, she became particularly concerned.
00:54He never parked there, and he hadn't been answering his phone.
01:00Her concerns were instantly confirmed when she saw the sliding side door to the house had been completely smashed in.
01:08She ran for help.
01:12Sharon Zachary was panicked.
01:18Her friend Bob had been the victim of several robberies in recent months.
01:22It looked as if this was another one.
01:26Okay.
01:27There was one in the dormant officers.
01:28Be advised 7-4-1-9 Jefferson Drive, our check welfare possible assault
01:35Officer's were familiars with Bob Rogers.
01:38It was not the first time they had been summoned to his residence.
01:43They knew the elderly man had a reputation for being a pack rat
01:46and for keeping large amounts of cash around the house.
01:52They entered the home carefully and cautiously
01:55so they would not disturb any potential evidence.
02:00But this time, the crime was worse.
02:05There, lying face up in his family room, was Bob Rogers.
02:10And he was dead.
02:13Hello?
02:15Is Bob okay?
02:16No, no, he's not.
02:17We have signal 15 here.
02:19We're going to need a nav tag.
02:20Also notify command, please.
02:22Emmett police now had what appeared to be a homicide on their hands.
02:27Lieutenant Thomas Headley arrived, prepared to begin the investigation.
02:32His first move was to speak with Sharon Zachary,
02:35the woman who had discovered the body.
02:36I'm in the house here, Mr. Rogers' house.
02:39Another also arrived.
02:40After asking her to go to the station to make a statement,
02:43he examined the bloody crime scene.
02:48From the start, Lieutenant Headley knew this crime did not happen like the others.
02:52The crime scene is a little bit odd to me.
02:57It's not consistent with whether we know of the behavior of Mr. Rogers.
03:01Also, the fact that the sliding glass door was broken in in the rear of the house
03:06was not consistent with the other crime scenes.
03:08People did not have to go through that effort to gain insurance.
03:14Among the strewn clothing and blood spatter,
03:17the crime tech team took measurements, photos, and samples, all potential evidence.
03:23Forensic technicians paid particularly close attention to the victim's twisted belt buckle.
03:32Pick it up.
03:33We'll get one more.
03:35Glass shards were photographed and collected for possible hand or footprints.
03:39There, yeah.
03:40We got more money up here.
03:42We got money up here.
03:43Not surprising to Lieutenant Headley
03:45was the large amounts of cash found stashed in various places around the room.
03:49At the Emmett Police Station,
03:54Lieutenant Anthony Geigel questions Sharon Zachary.
03:59She told Lieutenant Geigel about her relationship with Bob Rogers.
04:04She said she befriended the old man and rented one of his many properties.
04:11Zachary explained she was concerned about Mr. Rogers' safety.
04:16And she even insisted that he move in with her.
04:19She said she was tired of standing idly by
04:24while the old man repeatedly was the victim of violent robberies.
04:30Went to the door.
04:32Zachary told the Lieutenant she saw no one the morning she found Bob Rogers' body.
04:37She went to his home when she hadn't heard from him.
04:40But to Geigel, there was something a little off about Sharon Zachary's story
04:45and something odd about the whole murder.
04:50Dr. Joyce DeYoung fingerprinted the victim post-mortem.
04:55She needed to determine which prints found on the scene
04:58belonged to the victim
04:59and which belonged to the possible killer or killers.
05:02Mr. Rogers had between 25 and 30 blows to the head.
05:15Most of the injuries to the head were of the back and on the left side of the head,
05:19which certainly would suggest that the blows were being inflicted from somebody from behind.
05:27Judging from the position of Rogers' body and its decomposition,
05:31Dr. DeYoung concluded that Rogers' body was most likely moved after his fatal beating.
05:36She called Lieutenant Geigel to report her conclusions.
05:43There is a pool of blood near the body
05:46that appeared to be where the body was in a face-down position
05:49and then the body is rolled
05:51and the hands and the forearms are up in the air
05:54after rigor mortis had set.
05:59With fingerprints from the victim,
06:01forensic scientists began piecing together Bob Rogers' murder.
06:06Using a technique specifically designed
06:08for lifting fingerprints from porous surfaces,
06:11they analyzed the victim's belt.
06:15Numerous prints were lifted from the belt.
06:19Most of them belonged to Rogers.
06:23But one did not.
06:26In fact, if it was someone other than the victim's print on their pants,
06:32then obviously it was somebody that touched that area.
06:36It would not likely have remained on the surface of the belt
06:39while the victim was wearing it in a conventional manner.
06:44Scientists also found some compelling evidence
06:47on one of the shards from the broken sliding glass door.
06:51It was a muddy tennis shoe imprint.
06:54Simply by walking over glass,
06:58the design elements of the shoe
07:01are reproduced on that glass with incredible detail,
07:06including the, not only the design,
07:09but wear characteristics, size,
07:11the individual characteristics,
07:13unique features about a shoe
07:15that enable us to positively identify the shoe.
07:18The evidence was compelling,
07:23but it seemed to be leading nowhere.
07:28Lieutenant Geigel had no suspects,
07:31and every day that passed
07:32was another day the killer was free.
07:35Emmett Township Police were investigating
07:40the death of Bob Rogers,
07:42an elderly man who had been the victim
07:43of repeated robberies.
07:46They had evidence, fingerprints,
07:49and a muddy shoe print.
07:51We started talking to family members,
07:53and as a result,
07:55we started looking at her a little closer
07:56as a possible suspect.
07:57Their first stop was to return to the crime scene.
08:05Thousands of dollars were found in the house,
08:08cash stashed in every room.
08:12Investigators removed files and records
08:14from Rogers' home.
08:19In poring over his records,
08:22Lieutenants Geigel and Headley
08:23learned Sharon Zachary
08:25was using Rogers' credit cards.
08:26Detectives began to suspect
08:29their hunch about Sharon Zachary
08:31had been right.
08:34For further insight into Rogers' finances,
08:37they decided to question his lawyer.
08:41Rogers' lawyer explained
08:43Zachary was granted power of attorney
08:45four months before the murder.
08:48But just two weeks before being found dead,
08:50the elderly man had abruptly changed his mind.
08:53He discovered $10,000 missing from one of his accounts,
08:58and he was furious.
09:01A case further developed
09:03when we learned that Mr. Rogers had made a will
09:07leaving the property that belongs to him
09:12to Sharon Zachary upon his death.
09:15With a motive clearly in place,
09:21Lieutenants Geigel and Headley
09:23sent an investigator to Rogers' bank.
09:26The bank manager said Sharon Zachary
09:30came in with Bob Rogers
09:32about a year before his death,
09:34asking to be put on his account.
09:35He came back alone
09:36and filled out a form to take her...
09:39Rogers sat by uncomfortably
09:41while the paperwork was completed.
09:44But he returned alone the next day,
09:47requesting she be removed from the account.
09:51He wanted her removed
09:53as the power of attorney.
09:55He wanted to handle his own affairs
09:56as he didn't trust Sharon Zachary any longer.
10:00Mr. Rogers hadn't been able
10:01to get to his will yet.
10:04He was unfortunately murdered
10:05before I was able to do that.
10:08Finally, detectives spoke to a security guard
10:10at a local discount store.
10:15Zachary went to buy some shoes
10:17and attempted to use Bob Rogers' credit card.
10:21When the card was declined,
10:23security was summoned to the counter.
10:26They called Rogers at his house
10:28and he told them that under no circumstances
10:30did he give Zachary permission
10:31to use his credit card.
10:35She insisted there was a mix-up.
10:39The significance of this card
10:41was that it caused Mr. Rogers
10:44to become suspicious
10:45because at that time
10:46he would have felt
10:47that he was being cheated
10:48by Sharon Zachary.
10:50It was a huge break in the case.
10:56Detectives Geigel and Headley
10:58had confirmation
10:58that Sharon Zachary
11:00was desperately trying
11:01to take advantage
11:02of 81-year-old Bob Rogers.
11:06They were becoming
11:07more and more convinced
11:08that it was Zachary
11:09who killed the elderly man
11:11in a fit of greed.
11:14But they needed proof.
11:16If they could find a way
11:18to directly prove her guilt,
11:19the detectives knew
11:22they had found
11:23their murderer.
11:26Lieutenant Geigel
11:27and Lieutenant Headley
11:28were hot on the trail
11:29of the murderer
11:30of 81-year-old Bob Rogers.
11:33The man was bludgeoned
11:35to death in his own home
11:36and preliminary evidence
11:38was pointing to the guilt
11:39of his caretaker,
11:41Sharon Zachary.
11:41Zachary had been taking
11:45advantage of her power
11:46of attorney
11:47over Rogers' finances.
11:50It seemed clear
11:51the old man didn't appreciate
11:52Zachary spending his money.
11:56We were trying to find
11:56anything that would link
11:57Zachary into any kind
11:58of financial wrongdoing,
12:01anything that we could find
12:02to help kind of piece
12:03everything together.
12:05Plus, we still had not
12:06found a murder weapon.
12:08Then, another discovery.
12:10Lieutenant Headley learned
12:12Zachary had tried
12:13to get the plans
12:14to Rogers' land.
12:15They studied
12:16Bob Rogers' land plot.
12:19They wondered why
12:20Sharon Zachary,
12:21who rented one of Rogers' homes,
12:23would request a copy
12:24of Rogers' property plan.
12:27What they noticed immediately
12:28was the amount of water
12:30on Rogers' property.
12:32They knew one of the ponds
12:34would be the perfect place
12:35to stash a murder weapon.
12:38There were three ponds.
12:39They were adjacent
12:40to the house
12:41of Mr. Rogers.
12:42And we thought
12:44that possibly
12:45that they were used
12:47to hide the murder weapon.
12:50It was also interesting
12:51that there's a worn-down trail
12:53that leads from this area
12:55of the third pond
12:56behind Mr. Rogers' house
12:57to the house
12:59where Sharon Zachary lived.
13:02Divers were dispatched
13:04to check the pond.
13:05and the detective's instinct
13:07paid off.
13:09The divers pulled
13:10a three-foot section
13:11of pipe from the water.
13:14At the crime lab,
13:16forensic scientists
13:17examined the pipe.
13:19Although a long shot,
13:20there could still be
13:21blood evidence on the pipe.
13:23Forensic scientist
13:24Marjorie Harris.
13:25You have pores
13:28and crevices
13:29and cracks
13:29that allow the blood
13:30actually to soak
13:31into the weapon itself
13:33or dents.
13:34If you have cracks
13:36and crevices
13:37in a metal object,
13:38you still have pockets
13:40where the blood
13:40can accumulate
13:41and actually dry
13:42and adhere
13:43to those surfaces.
13:45Despite the fact
13:46the pipe had been
13:47submerged in the pond,
13:49it still had remains
13:50of human blood.
13:51It's very glad
13:53that we found it.
13:55I don't believe
13:56this has ever happened
13:57before
13:57that a murder weapon
13:59like this
14:00could be retrieved,
14:01being submerged
14:02in water
14:03and still have
14:04viable DNA
14:05that could be identified.
14:13Forensic investigators
14:14replicated the blood spatter
14:16of the crime scene.
14:18Using a pipe
14:19similar to the one
14:20found in the pond,
14:21they struck a melon
14:22to simulate a skull.
14:25Comparing crime scene photos
14:27to the crime reconstruction,
14:30forensic investigators
14:31concluded the pipe
14:32pulled from the pond
14:33was the same pipe
14:34used to kill
14:35Bob Rogers.
14:37We like to do
14:39a crime scene reconstruction
14:40where we can tell
14:42a series or a sequence
14:43of events.
14:44What happened?
14:45Where did it happen?
14:46What was the order
14:47that it happened?
14:49The detectives felt
14:51they finally had
14:51all the ammunition
14:52they needed
14:53to go after Sharon Zachary.
14:56With a search warrant
14:57in hand,
14:58they entered her house.
15:01By seizing the financial records
15:03in Sharon Zachary's house,
15:05it shows that she had
15:06an interest
15:06in the finances
15:08of Mr. Rogers
15:09and that she wanted to know
15:11apparently more about
15:13what kind of money
15:14that he had available to him.
15:17Sharon Zachary was cooperative
15:19in allowing police
15:20to remove Bob Rogers' records
15:22from her house.
15:23The officers asked her
15:28for a pair of tennis shoes
15:29for comparison
15:30to a shoe print
15:31found at the crime scene.
15:35Without any argument,
15:36she produced a pair
15:37of white tennis shoes
15:38which they promptly
15:39bagged for testing.
15:42Here they are.
15:44Back at the crime lab,
15:46treads on Sharon Zachary's
15:48tennis shoes
15:48were compared
15:49with the footprints
15:49found on the broken glass
15:51at the murder scene.
15:54Although she insisted
15:55she never went
15:56in the house that morning,
15:58the preserved prints
15:59matched those
16:00of Sharon Zachary's
16:02perfectly.
16:04The individual characteristics
16:06are exactly the same.
16:07Therefore,
16:08the impression
16:09from your crime scene
16:10and the impression
16:11made by the known shoe
16:12from the suspect
16:13are one and the same.
16:18The shoe print
16:19was enough to arrest
16:20Sharon Zachary.
16:21It definitively placed her
16:24at the scene
16:25of the crime.
16:28The woman who claimed
16:29to be Bob Rogers'
16:30caregiver
16:30was now being arrested
16:33for his murder.
16:36We believe that
16:36the forensic evidence
16:38that we located
16:39clearly established
16:40that she was
16:41at the crime scene.
16:42We established
16:43that Sharon Zachary
16:43was untruthful
16:44and we believe
16:45that Sharon Zachary
16:46murdered Mr. Rogers.
16:49Back at the crime lab,
16:50forensic scientists
16:51were comparing
16:52a fingerprint
16:52found on Bob Rogers' belt
16:54with Zachary's prints.
16:57It was a perfect match.
17:00We actually physically
17:01found Zachary's print
17:02on the back
17:03of Mr. Rogers' belt,
17:05which shows
17:06that she had
17:07contact with the body.
17:09That didn't match
17:10with what she initially
17:12had told her officers.
17:14Zachary said
17:14that it was only natural
17:15they had evidence
17:16linking her
17:17to the crime scene.
17:19She said she spent
17:20so much time
17:21taking care of the old man
17:23that it was not surprising
17:24her print would be
17:25on his belt.
17:28But forensics told
17:29a different story
17:30about the print.
17:32It is very fragile
17:33in nature
17:34and in all likelihood
17:36would have been destroyed
17:37in simply placing
17:39the belt through
17:40the belt loops
17:41and attaching it
17:42to the pants.
17:43If it has been
17:44on a person's clothing
17:45for a period of time,
17:46it's not likely
17:47that either the victim's
17:50print or a suspect's print
17:51would be present
17:52on the underside
17:53of that belt.
17:54It was too late
17:55for Sharon Zachary.
17:57The evidence against her
17:59was overwhelming
18:00and everything was
18:02pointing to her guilt.
18:04The forensic evidence
18:05we gathered
18:06at the scene
18:06of this incident
18:08were key
18:09into solving this crime.
18:11everything from
18:13the thumbprint
18:14to the shoe impressions
18:16that were pulled
18:18to the murder weapon
18:20that we eventually found
18:22submerged in one of the ponds
18:24that pulled everything together
18:27and made all the pieces fit
18:29and allowed us
18:29to solve this homicide.
18:32Sharon Zachary
18:33could no longer hide
18:34from what detectives
18:35were able to piece together.
18:37angered by not being able
18:40to freely spend
18:41Roger's money,
18:42Sharon Zachary
18:43let greed
18:44get the better of her.
18:46Keep looking.
18:47Keep looking.
18:49On the morning
18:50of April 26th,
18:51she went over
18:51to his house.
18:54While he was stashing
18:55away some of his cash,
18:57she struck the elderly man
18:58repeatedly
18:59with a pipe.
18:59I think she finally
19:07saw an opportunity
19:08to take him
19:10out of the picture,
19:11collect all of his estate
19:12and walk away scot-free.
19:16She rifled
19:17through Roger's pockets,
19:19turning them inside out
19:20and removing the cash.
19:22My guess
19:23is that she knew
19:24exactly what she was
19:25going to do
19:25when she went over there.
19:26She knew based
19:27on his history
19:28of the robberies
19:29and the prior assaults
19:31on Mr. Rogers
19:31that she was going
19:32to make it look
19:32exactly like that.
19:35Attempting to make
19:36the premeditated killing
19:37look like a random robbery,
19:40she then went outside
19:42and smashed
19:42the sliding glass door.
19:46And after she did it,
19:47she tried to make
19:48the place look
19:49like your typical
19:50textbook breaking
19:51and entering,
19:51but she forgot
19:52a couple key facts.
19:54I think that was
19:55her ultimate downfall.
19:56Lieutenant's Headley
19:59and Geigel's
20:00strong detective work
20:01held up in court.
20:03Sharon Zachary
20:04was found guilty
20:04of first-degree murder
20:06and armed robbery.
20:09She was sentenced
20:10to life in prison
20:11without parole.
20:12and I was in a second-by-doorģ,
20:13also known by a
20:14young man who was
20:14very, very nice
20:16and that's what
20:16they thought
20:16about a film.
20:17They were
20:18she was sentenced to 5
20:18years ago.
20:19She was sentenced to 6
20:19years ago,
20:20she was sentenced to 6
20:21years after a family
20:22and a half-killed,
20:23and that's my
20:23number of her.
20:23She was sentenced to 5
20:24and her second-year
20:25and was sentenced to 6
20:26and I was sentenced to 6
20:27of two years.
20:29She was sentenced to 6
20:29and two years after
20:30after a while.