December 31, 2024
In June 2020, officers from Morgan County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama responded to a shots fired call at a home in Valhermoso Springs on the 500 block of Talacuh Road.
The call was made by neighbours who heard shooting coming from inside the residence at approximately 11:35 p.m.
There, deputies discovered the remains of several victims, 4 male, 3 female, partially burned in a fire that had been lit by their killers. Each victim appeared to have been shot, some multiple times. One victim was shot a total of sixteen times.
The victims were later identified as:
Roger Lee Jones Jr., 19 of Decatur.
William Zane Hodgin,18 of Somerville.
Emily Brooke Payne, 21 of Valhermoso Springs.
Jeramy Wade Roberts, 31 of Athens.
Tammy England Muzzey, 45 of Valhermoso Springs.
James Wayne Benford, 22 of Decatur,
and an additional victim, a seventeen-year-old girl who was not identified in the media.
A dog was also found dead inside the home.
Toxicology reports showed that each of the victims had meth in their system, with the exception of William Zane Hodgin, who had THC in his system.
Initially, detectives were unsure what the motive for the killings was, but ruled out any kind of domestic violence, believing it was a targeted attack.
Fredric Rogers, 22, and John Legg, 19, were located two weeks after the murders, and arrested in Marion County, Oregon, before being transported back to Morgan County.
A statement published online by Morgan County Sheriff’s Office stated an indictment had been issued by the Grand Jury which charged both Legg and Rogers with six counts of capital murder during the course of a robbery (Count I), pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct (Count II), during a burglary (Counts III-V), and during the commission of an arson (Count VI).
Both pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect.
Fredric Rogers, 26, stood trial in the summer of 2024.
He stood accused of shooting and killing four of the victims. John Legg stood accused of killing the other three.
During an interview with the FBI, Rogers confessed to shooting three of the victims, but claimed it was in self defense. He said he was in the garage of the house when he heard gunshots from the living room, where Legg was at the time. Rogers claimed he ran in and started shooting believing both his and Legg's lives were in danger. Later, Rogers attorneys argued that Rogers only told the FBI this version of events in hope of a more lenient sentence for cooperating with authorities.
He said he attempted to burn the house down afterwards.
Legg and Rogers are said to have been at the Talacuh Road home to settle a conflict.
At the trial, Tiffany Lamb, a woman who said she had briefly lived with Frederic Rogers and John Legg at a house in Hartselle, but claimed to be a neutral party, talked about the "Seven Deadly Sins" group, admitting that she wasn't sure if it was an actual group or an inside joke.
She added that Fredric Rogers was the president of the club, and that John Legg was vice president.
Lamb said of the environment: "There was a lot of violence towards people who were staying there. Lots of hostility and agitation. I have anxiety and I wasn’t comfortable.”
She told jurors that events leading up to the shootings began with Emily Payne, a victim, who posted pictures from a birthday party to social media, as well as an argument over stolen firearms and cash.
“They told me the night before Emily Payne Had had her 21st birthday party at Tammy’s house. And there were pictures taken with firearms in the background. There was drugs and money that was missing. They also were concerned that some guns had come up missing at the house in Hartselle.”
Lamb said she gave Rogers advice to ask Emily to delete the images, or to take Emily’s phone and delete them himself.
Rogers first reaction, Lamb said, was “Kicking in the door and eliminating people.”
Lamb said as she was in the process of moving out of the Hartselle home, she returned to pick up her remaining belongings, as well as a cat that lived in the home, and then went to her friends house. She said she did not check her phone and did not know what occurred on the night of the shootings until the following morning.
Lamb was accused of downplaying her role and association with the group, and was questioned by the defense about her affiliations with Arian brotherhood/ southern brotherhood, which she denied having.
Landon B. Landon, a childhood friend of the victim Emily Brooke Payne, told the court that victims Emily and Tammy lived at the Talucuh Road home.
He said a few days before her death, Emily had messaged Landon concerned for her safety, saying she was worried that "they" were going to kill her. According to Landon's testimony, Emily showed up at his home "freaking out" that she owed money.
Landon admitted that he couldn't recall the name of the person Emily said was threatening to kill her, but said he spent several nights "hanging out in the garage" of the Talucuh road home, usually leaving at around 9pm, although he had never met Rogers or seen him before.
The trial ended with the jury sentencing Rogers to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Roger's mother, Tasha Thompson said of the verdict: “I wasn’t always there. I was a teenage mom. I was 17 when I had him. The abandonment issues that he felt from me…I was unaware of until all this happened. I do blame myself for how his life went, because I was a single mom with boyfriends here and there until I met my husband.”
John Legg pleaded guilty to three counts of capital murder on December 18, 2024, as part of a plea deal following a court hearing where he was ruled mentally competent to stand trial.
He has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.
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