MOUNT VERNON — A man authorities say strangled his wife after doing online research into how to kill someone has been convicted of first-degree murder.
A Skagit County Superior Court jury returned the verdict against William Rodgers on Friday morning. The 52-year-old Rodgers was on trial for nearly three weeks. Prosecutors had said Rodgers performed Google searches on “how to break a neck” and “how dangerous is it to fall down stairs” on the day before his wife died.
Rodgers called 911 on May 28, 2012, to say his wife, 48-year-old Sherri Rodgers, had fallen down a staircase near their garage and wasn’t breathing.
A tentative pre-sentence hearing date for William Rodgers has been set for Dec. 2. He faces up to 28 years in prison.
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