Family, friends left shaken by machete attack

MAT-SU — Disbelief. Shock. Anger. Grief. Sympathy. Fear.

Friends and family of Christopher E. Rogers Sr. and Elann Moren, victims of a vicious machete attack while they slept, have experienced multiple combinations of these emotions over the past week. Rogers was killed, and if it weren’t for the family dog Bear, Moren may have been as well. She was seriously injured defending herself from the brutal assault.

What makes a senseless and tragic act more so is that the one allegedly wielding the machete was Roger’s son, Christopher Erin Rogers Jr.

“Shock doesn’t cover it. We had no indication [Rogers Jr.] was capable of such an unthinkable act,” said Pam Clemens, a lifelong friend of Moren’s. In fact, Moren and Rogers Sr. gathered with family and friends the evening before the Dec. 2 attacks to celebrate the couple’s one-year anniversary together, an event Rogers Jr. also attended. They ate homemade pizza and planned their upcoming wedding.

“We all were planning their wedding for next June,” Clemens said. “They were both lifetime Alaskans, very generous and gave of themselves.”

Moren is recovering from the attack at a local hospital, said her son James Moren. She suffered numerous wounds to her arms, legs, back and head, mostly defensive wounds trying to fend off Rogers Jr., who, according to Anchorage police, admitted killing his father and attacking Elann Moren. He then allegedly stole his father’s truck and a .357-caliber handgun that was in the truck, drove to Anchorage, and shot three other people Dec. 2 and 3, killing one other person.

During the attack on Moren, their dog Bear attacked Rogers Jr. and gave Moren enough time to escape to a bathroom and call authorities, her son said, adding he’s dealt with many emotions over the past week,

His first reaction was “disbelief,” James Moren said. “It was surreal. It sounded like something you’d hear on the national news far away. This goes beyond anything.”

Now trying to support his mother and the family of Rogers Sr., who went by “Chris,” James Moren has helped establish benefit funds for both families. He also wants people to know his mother and her fiancé did nothing to goad Roger Jr., who goes by by “Erin,” into committing his alleged crimes.

“I could rage, I could vigilante — I have all the excuses in the world to act like that,” he said. “We can’t cry enough, can’t rage enough and can’t hate enough to undo these deaths and reverse the harm to our loved ones. We won’t waste the space in our hearts on hating Erin, but will fill our hearts with love and positive attitudes to help our loved ones through this difficult time.”

If Erin Rogers believed he was treated badly by his father and his fiancé, it was all in his mind, James Moren said.

“My mom and her [fiancee] were nothing but helping that kid,” he said. “They were supporting him. They weren’t browbeating him any more than any other parent would be on their kid for getting a DUI or something.”

It would have been out of character for Moren or Chris Rogers to mistreat anyone, Clemens said, adding in her 40 years of friendship with Moren she never saw her show anything but compassion and kindness to people. That’s why her work as an aide to handicapped people suits her.

“I saw Erin and his father working together,” she said. “Chris had his own business and Erin would be working with him. I never saw any animosity between them. He was a very gentle man and my friend is one of the most loving and caring people you would ever know. Elann has an indomitable spirit. I’m so glad she’s alive and so sad he’s gone.”

Clemens was among those friends and family attending the couple’s anniversary celebration Dec. 1. She noticed a few minor exchanges between Erin Rogers and his father, but nothing she thought was serious. Looking back, she believes the younger Rogers was also “somewhat reserved,” during dinner, but she never thought her friend of close to 40 years or her fiancé were in any danger.

‘Well blessed and

highly favored’

Rhonda Marcy has known Elann Moren for about 10 years and was close to her and Chris Rogers during their relationship. No matter the circumstances, she’s known her friend to always be a glass is half-full-type of person, who was known for saying she is “well blessed and highly favored.”

During the attack, Moren lost the tips of two fingers on her left hand, had her right elbow damaged severely, took full blows to the head, backs of both legs and both arms. The blows were “hard enough to fracture and break bones,” Marcy said.

Recovering in the hospital this past week, Marcy still heard the same Elann Moren she’s known for years. In describing the care she’s receiving to another she again said she is “well blessed and highly favored.”

“She is that kind of person,” Marcy said. “She’s not one to harbor bad feelings.”

That also shows in her work through Ready Care and Consumer Personal Care Direct, agencies that provide home care service and support.

Marcy also doesn’t believe Erin Rogers was treated badly and wasn’t provoked.

While glad her longtime friend survived, Marcy is saddened by the death of Chris Rogers and that they will not have an opportunity to make the life together they had hoped for.

“I didn’t know Chris very well, but I grieve that I’ve lost a friend,” Marcy said. “They wanted to find some property to build a bed and breakfast together.”

A week after the rampage that left two dead and three others seriously wounded, there is still disbelief, shock, anger, grief, sympathy and fear.

“At times it’s too much, just too much,” James Moren said, adding family and friends are “just trying to deal with this the best we can.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.