Killer gets 309 years in prison and has more coming to him

An Anchorage judge sentenced Christopher Erin Rogers Jr. to 309 years in prison Friday. With that sentence alone, Rogers will spend the rest of his life behind bars. And he is yet to be sentenced for his conviction of homicide and assorted other crimes committed here. Looks like another 99 years or more will be tacked on if he ever does get sentenced in Palmer Superior Court.

Kinda makes one wonder what the delay is.

A reporter here suggests the delay is that the Rogers trial is Superior Court Judge Vanessa White’s first murder case and everybody wants to make sure all the actions are correct.

That’s OK as far as it goes. Rogers isn’t going anywhere, but here it is more than two years later, and he hasn’t been sentenced.

There wasn’t a lot of speculation about what happened out on the lonely road near Palmer. He left a survivor — his dead father’s fiancée — who could easily identify him as the man who cut her up and butchered his father with a machete.

Police often say eyewitnesses aren’t as reliable as they sound, but in this case, Elann Moren had broken bread with Rogers, saw him around his father’s house. So her pointing the finger at him wasn’t disputed.

Another reporter here asked, “So why’d they even have a trial?”

In another time, maybe 150 years ago, there probably wouldn’t have been a trial. He would’ve been strung up unless somebody took it personal and hunted him down and shot him.

Today, though, we have these niceties, like giving the suspect a chance to make his case. During the Palmer hearing, Rogers chose not to speak. The bloody evidence and certain testimony spoke plainly.

The Anchorage portion of Rogers’ trial was more complicated because the killing and shooting spree covered more ground and more people.

In that one, Rogers did speak and used various reasons for his actions, including that aliens made him do it.

Then again, as he was hacking his father to death, he reportedly was yelling, “You made me do this.”

Apparently in Rogers’ mind, anyone or anything is responsible for his killing two people, wounding others and maiming one. It can’t be his fault.

At age 30 and with 400 years or more to think about it, he’ll have all kinds of time to figure out where the blame should lie.