10x23 - Prints Among Thieves

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Narrator: the m*rder of an
eccentric millionaire was not

Entirely a surprise.

He flaunted his wealth and cared
little about personal security.

The evidence clearly indicated
robbery.

But investigators wondered if
there was more.

Battle creek, michigan, is home
to one of the largest

Breakfast-food makers in the
world.

Some call it cereal city.


His entire life in battle creek.

Through some real-estate
investments and his ownership of

A small trucking business, he
was a millionaire many times

Over.

He was a tough old bird.

He never pulled any punches.

He was always a son of a bitch.

Narrator: rogers was
stubborn, too.

He always carried large sums of
money and didn't care who knew

It.

He would joke that he would
have several thousand in this

Pocket and several thousand in a
pants pocket and a couple more

Thousand in his back pocket, and
he generally did.

Narrator: not surprisingly,
rogers became a target for local

Drug gangs and petty thieves.

He was a victim several times
of robberies.

They would take his money from
him, beat him up.

His house had been broken in to
a few times also.

So, yeah, it was a problem for
him, but he didn't change his

Pattern it seemed like.

He'd still carry the large sums
of money.

Narrator: sharon zachary
lived next door to rogers and

Acted as his caretaker.

Sharon zachary had become
almost like a daughter to him.

She would take care of him.

She would look in on him.

She would come and visit him.

Narrator: it worked out
nicely...until the day

Sharon zachary stopped by
rogers' home and found that it

Had been broken in to.

What's the problem?

Narrator: when police
arrived, they found

Robert rogers on the living-room
floor.

He had been beaten to death.

The person that committed
this crime did not want any

Possibility of mr. Rogers to be
alive to identify the

Perpetrator.

Narrator: it looked like a
piece of firewood was used to

Break the rear sliding-glass
door.

Drawers and closets had been
ransacked.

But if the motive was robbery,
the perpetrator had not been

Entirely successful.

After the homicide, they
found $133,000 in cash hidden in

The house, which that, by
itself, was such an

Attention-grabber in this
community.

I mean, that was one of the most
unusual things about the whole

Incident.

Narrator: the blood evidence
revealed rogers was beaten at

Two different times.

The victim sustained some
injuries and then had enough

Time to lay there.

His wounds even started to heal,
and then he was hit again.

That's bloodthirsty.

That's cold.

But to come back and he's not
dead and just beat him again to

Make sure he's dead...whew.

That's cold.

Narrator: and the forensic
evidence indicated the k*ller

Approached the body yet a third
time.

Mr. Rogers, when he was
found, his arms and actually his

Forearms and hands were up in
the air.

Narrator: this phenomenon is
called rigor mortis -- a

Stiffening of the body that
occurs several hours after

Death.

What this would tell
investigators about the time

Period is that someone moved him
three or four hours after he was

Dead.

Narrator: this meant the
k*ller was inside the house for

Hours.

Narrator: when millionaire
robert rogers was found beaten

To death in his home, police
began their investigation by

Questioning family members and
relatives.

They learned that rogers had an
ongoing squabble with his only

Son, donald.

They were barely on speaking
terms.

Donald told his father he was
concerned about his memory

Problems and wanted to take
control of his father's

Finances.

Rogers retaliated by cutting his
son out of his will.

Like I said, he was a tough
old bird.

I could never do anything quite
good enough for him.

Narrator: donald insisted he
didn't m*rder his father,

Although he admitted the two had
serious problems.

We were putting a roof on the
building out here, and I guess I

Just wasn't doing it fast
enough.

He picked up a thing of shingles
and threw them at me, and I

Went right over the end of the
roof.

Flat on my back.

Knocking him off the roof --
when a police officer hears that

There's that much animosity and
especially when they find out

Donald had been cut out of the
will of a fairly substantial

Estate, that's got to raise a
lot of red flags for an

Investigator.

Narrator: at robert rogers'
autopsy, the medical examiner

Determined the cause of death
was repeated blows to the head

With a blunt object.

This clearly was a homicide.

The number of blows -- it
appeared he had been struck 25

To 30 times.

I really can't speak to the
state of mind of the k*ller,

Although it certainly appears
that they're enraged.

Narrator: but no m*rder
w*apon was found at the scene.

When we leave a crime scene
without that m*rder w*apon, we

Have our work cut out for us in
order to put that suspect in the

Scene.

Narrator: the forensic
evidence proved that someone

Turned rogers over several hours
after death, presumably to

Search his pockets for money.

For investigators, this offered
a possible clue.

How would someone grab hold
of him to turn him over?

And we did notice that the belt
had been disturbed slightly,

Meaning it had been twisted a
little bit.

And so we kind of thought that
perhaps maybe the suspect

Grabbed ahold of the belt.

Narrator: the belt was
removed for forensic testing.

The initial examination found no
fingerprints.

So they tried superglue fuming.

It's just simply heating up
the superglue inside of a

Enclosed chamber, allowing that
superglue to vaporize, and it

Has the physical properties to
want to adhere to the

Fingerprint residuals left
behind when an item is touched.

Narrator: and it revealed a
partial thumbprint about 5

Inches from the buckle.

The quality of that latent
fingerprint was very poor.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this
latent fingerprint was about a 2

To a 3.

This is the only belt that I
have ever obtained a fingerprint

Off of.

Narrator: investigators found
their next clue in the shards of

Broken glass.

There was a beautiful
footwear impression.

It was maybe half of a shoe or
the whole ball area of the shoe

Was present.

Narrator: this may have
happened when the k*ller stepped

Into the house after breaking
the glass.

So, it gave me a lot to work
with with regards to looking

For accidental characteristics
or markings.

Narrator: using various
databases, analysts quickly

Discovered the print was from
the left shoe of white pier 10-

Brand tennis shoes.

Also at the crime scene,
investigators found a set of

Keys in the grass next to one of
the ponds on the 10-acre

Property.

The keys opened the doors to
rogers' home.

Divers searched the ponds and a
week later found a 3-foot length

Of pipe with a water-sprinkler
attachment at the end.

While there were no fingerprints
or hair on the pipe, there was a

Tiny speck of blood, which was
sent for dna testing.

How it got left there has
always been amazing to us

Because it obviously had to have
dried first when it was dumped

In the pond.

Otherwise, it would have washed
off as soon as it was thrown in

The pond.

Narrator: to determine if
this was the m*rder w*apon,

Investigators devised a test to
see the marks this pipe would

Make on a human skull.

At the time, there weren't a
lot of different surfaces or

Forensically available sources
for reproducing human skin.

And so in this particular case,
I used just a honeydew melon.

It had a smooth surface, and it
was rounded.

It was approximately the same
size as a human head.

Narrator: she struck the
melons from different angles

And with varying amounts of
force.

You want to hit the test
surface to try to create as many

Different patterns as I could
using that particular pipe.

And then I compared them to the
wound patterns seen on the

Victim.

Narrator: scientists
concluded rogers was k*lled with

This instrument.

Why was this significant?

The person that had the keys
may have dropped them when they

Threw the m*rder w*apon into the
pond.

Narrator: investigators
wondered whether the housekeys

Belonged to the victim's son or
someone else.

Narrator: police now
suspected that the robert rogers

Crime scene was staged and that
the k*ller actually entered the

Home with a set of housekeys.

Now we call into question
the whole idea of the breaking

And entering.

We call into question whether or
not this was a crime of some

Outsider coming in and trying to
rob mr. Rogers or was it

Someone that had access to his
house, access to mr. Rogers?

Narrator: investigators asked
the victim's estranged son,

Donald, where he was at the time
of his father's m*rder.

He said he had an alibi and
offered to take a polygraph

Test.

The guy who gives it to me,
he says, "well, you passed the

Polygraph test."

I says, "passed it?"
He says, "yeah. You're a lousy

Liar."

[ Laughs ]
which is -- that's cool.

Narrator: so investigators
turn their attention to

Sharon zachary, who not only
lived next door to rogers but

Worked as his caretaker.

Sharon said she was with a
friend shopping all day across

Town, but investigators
discovered something suspicious.

She made several large
expenditures in the months

Leading up to rogers' m*rder.

She started spending money.

From about january to around
april, it's estimated about

$65,00 Was spent on her own
personal items.

Narrator: she bought a new
car, a boat, and took her family

On a caribbean vacation.

The expenses exceeded her
family's discretionary income.

Sharon was a part-time car
salesperson.

He husband was a sales
representative.

And investigators also learned
that rogers named sharon the

Sole beneficiary of his
multimillion-dollar estate.

Armed with a search warrant,
investigators confiscated

Sharon's shoes for analysis.

I believe we got over 20 or


Laboratory.

Narrator: one pair caught
michaud's attention --

A pair of size 6 1/2 tennis
shoes.

Michaud dusted the shoes with
powder and applied a sticky

Sheet of acetate to lift the
print.

All shoe impressions are
distinctive.

When a shoe is made and it
comes out of the factory, it's

Exactly like every other shoe
made in that particular mold.

And as soon as you start walking
on that shoe, you get

Microscopic scratches and cuts
and nicks in the bottom of the

Shoe that makes that shoe
different from all others in the

World.

Narrator: the shoe impression
found on the glass at the crime

Scene had various nicks and
scrape marks.

Interestingly, sharon zachary's
left tennis shoe was the same

Size, make, and model as the
impression found at the crime

Scene.

And it also had the same nicks
and scrape marks.

The surface was so clean, it
made just a beautiful, very

Detailed impression.

There was enough markings on
the glass that she was able to

Compare to the shoes and find a
positive match to one shoe, and

Only one shoe, that made that
print.

Narrator: fingerprint
analysts had a more difficult

Time comparing sharon's prints
to the one found on the victim's

Belt.

They had to study the ridge
details and figure out the

Direction of the print and what
part of which finger to compare.

After three days, they
discovered the print on the

Victim's belt was the side of
sharon's left thumb.

It took a lot of hours
looking at that latent

Fingerprint.

This latent print, with enough
detail in it to make an

Identification, was not a very
high-quality latent fingerprint.

Narrator: when confronted
with the forensic evidence,

Sharon denied she was the
k*ller.

She insisted she had no motive.

But the victim's financial
records suggested otherwise.

In this case, we found a
large sum of cash disappearing

Out of his account routinely
over the time from january to

April.

Narrator: that money went
right into sharon zachary's

Account.

Sharon convinced him to give
her power of attorney, and

Sharon convinced him to give her
a checkbook.

And then when she got onto some
of his checking accounts, and

She just started using them as
her own.

And, uh, you know, she got
greedy and decided she wanted it

All.

Narrator: records indicated
that sharon zachary stole up to

$120,000.

And there was clear evidence
that rogers discovered the

Embezzlement.

Sharon zachary was helping
herself to mr. Rogers' funds,

And mr. Rogers apparently was
not happy about that and had his

Power of attorney withdrawn to
put a stop to sharon zachary

Helping herself to his money.

Narrator: sharon also found
out that rogers planned to

Remove her from his will.

I believe sharon zachary was
in a hurry at that time to k*ll

Mr. Rogers before he could make
that change in his will.

I believe greed is definitely
what drove sharon zachary.

Narrator: the dna test
results of the blood found on

The metal pipe revealed the
blood was robert rogers' --

More proof that it was the
m*rder w*apon.

When dna was found on the
pipe, it was fairly spectacular

Because we really didn't think
that the dna would still be on

The pipe two weeks later.

Narrator: 31-year-old
sharon zachary was charged with

The m*rder of robert rogers.

Mr. Rogers at one point in
time even told an attorney that

She was the daughter he never
had.

It is ironic that
robert rogers, attempting to

Seek sanctuary for himself, to
seek protection from persons who

Wanted to rob and hurt him,
trusted sharon zachary.

And it's ironic that this
person, in turn, turned on him

And became the very thing that
he was trying to guard against.

I would never believe that
something like this could ever

Happen.

This is only the kind of stuff
that you read about.

But looking back, I can see that
this can happen to anybody.

Narrator: sharon zachary and
her family lived next door to

Robert rogers and the two became
friends.

Rogers' eyesight was failing,
and sharon not only befriended

Him, she also helped by writing
checks so he could pay his

Bills.

But prosecutors found evidence
that sharon was doing more than

That and was actually helping
herself to some of rogers'

Money -- tens of thousands of
it.

She got a sizeable chunk in
just the little time that her

And him were associated --
the trip to the caribbean for

Her and all her family,
the speedboat, a vehicle.

Narrator: on the day of the
m*rder, prosecutors believe

Sharon went to rogers' house
intending to k*ll him before he

Could change his will and remove
her as beneficiary.

Prosecutors think sharon grabbed
a piece of pipe from rogers'

Yard, used her keys to gain
entrance, and struck him over

The head repeatedly.

As he lay unconscious, she spent
hours searching the house for

The money he had stashed away.

If she did find money, she
didn't find it all.

At some point, she must have
realized he wasn't dead and she

Struck him again.

Once again, she searched the
house for money.

Before leaving the house, sharon
turned rogers' body over to

Search his pockets, leaving her
partial thumbprint on his

Leather belt.

To make it look like a robbery,
she threw a piece of firewood

Through the sliding-glass door.

But she stepped on a shard of
glass, leaving a clear image of

Her shoe impression.

On her way back home, sharon
tried to dispose of the pipe but

Dropped her keys nearby --
a mistake which led to the

Discovery of the m*rder w*apon.

Sharon zachary, after
committing this crime,

Established an alibi to be seen
in different locations at a

Point far away from her home to
try to establish that she

Couldn't have committed a crime
by having not been there.

We always wondered if it was
sharon zachary by herself or

Sharon zachary with others.

We don't know.

There may have been.

There may not have been.

We have no clue.

We have no evidence.

Narrator: at the trial,
sharon zachary insisted she was

Innocent.

But the forensic evidence told a
different story.

She was convicted of first
degree m*rder and sentenced to

Life in prison.

I'm glad they got her.

But I don't want to sound like
I'm out for vengeance.

Although, if they wanted to k*ll
her, I'd volunteer.

Narrator: it was the shoe
impression on a shard of glass

And the partial thumbprint on
the leather belt that solved the

Case.

In my 12 years of doing

Latent printwork, this case
ranks right up near the top, if

Not the most difficult latent
fingerprint that I've had to

Identify.

So this was a very satisfying
case for me to be involved with.

Criminals always seem to make
mistakes.

I believe the mistakes on this
case by sharon zachary were

Because she was fighting the
clock.

This trial would have never
happened without the forensics.

We had a clear motive -- money.

But to show that she was there,

To show that the print, the

Shoeprint, the thumbprint were

From her -- we wouldn't have had

A case.