Man Found Guilty of Killing Bridalplasty Star with Hammer and Burying Her Body in His Backyard
A California man has been found guilty of brutally killing Bridalplasty star Lisa Marie Naegle and burying her body in his backyard, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office confirmed.
On Dec. 18, 2016, 34-year-old Jackie Jerome Rogers, Naegle’s former student, beat the nurse and reality show contestant at least eight times with a hammer while the two were inside his car.
Naegle, who was married, and Rogers were having an affair at the time of her death.
On Monday, Rogers was convicted of one count of first-degree murder. Before the murder, Rogers and Naegle attended a friend’s birthday party together at a restaurant in Torrance, California. It was the last time Naegle was seen alive.
Days later, Rogers was arrested and confessed to killing Naegle. He also led authorities to her shallow grave in his backyard.
Before burying her, Rogers hit Naegle “two more times with the hammer to ensure she was dead before covering her body with dirt and manure,” according to evidence presented in court, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
In an attempt to cover up the crime, Rogers disposed of all of Naegle’s belongings, cleaned his car, and washed Naegle’s blood off the murder weapon.
Prior to his arrest, Naegle’s family confronted Rogers about her whereabouts after reporting her missing.
The family knew something was off when Naegle failed to make it work. However, when they brought their concerns to the police, they were told a person has to be missing for 72 hours before they could investigate.
Instead of waiting, Naegle’s family reached out to Rogers. Naegle’s sister Danielle Naegle-Kaimoana told PEOPLE in 2016 that Rogers initially said he had driven Lisa Marie to the party but had left her there when he got tired.
“We said to him ‘How could you leave someone [drunk and] go home alone? How could you let that happen?'” Naegle-Kaimoana said.
The family later obtained surveillance footage from the Torrance restaurant, which showed Naegle and Rogers leaving the party together.
? Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
After showing shots of the footage to Rogers, Naegle-Kaimoana claims he changed his story and said he left the party with Naegle but dropped her off at a gas station nearby. His new story only made the family more suspicious.
“He started shaking,” Naegle-Kaimoana remembers. “I wanted him to leave but at the same time I wanted him to admit [that he knew more.]”
It wasn’t until Rogers spoke to the LAPD later that day that he confessed to the crime.
Rogers is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 26 years to life in state prison.
Naegle appeared on Bridalplasty an E! television reality show where brides compete for plastic surgery treatments and a fantasy wedding in 2010.