Teresa Sievers, a 46-year-old doctor, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer at her Bonita Springs, Florida home in June 2015. Her husband, Mark Sievers, was later convicted of orchestrating the murder for life insurance money, along with two accomplices, Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. and Jimmy Ray Rodgers, who carried out the killing.
Mark Sievers — Credit: Florida Department of Corrections · Public domain
Background
Teresa Sievers (born Teresa Ann Grace Tottenham on November 19, 1968) was a physician who ran a holistic medical practice, Restorative Health and Healing Center, in Estero, Florida, with her husband Mark Sievers. The couple married in 2003 and had two children. They had moved to Bonita Springs, Florida in 2006. Shortly before her death, Teresa had been profiled in a local women's magazine.
The Murder
In 2015, Mark Sievers confided to his childhood friend Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. that he was having marital problems with Teresa and feared she would take their children from him. Wright suggested that Teresa's death was the only solution, and Mark agreed to pay him to arrange it. Mark also had a financial motive: investigators later found five life insurance policies on Teresa totaling $4.433 million. Wright, without Mark's knowledge, recruited a third man, Jimmy Ray Rodgers, to help carry out the killing.
On June 27, 2015, Wright and Rodgers drove more than 1,000 miles from Missouri to the Sievers' home in Bonita Springs, a route later confirmed by GPS logs and gas station surveillance footage. They arrived at the home around 6:00 a.m. on June 28, disabled the security alarm, then left to purchase trash bags, wet wipes, black towels, black shoes, and a lock-picking kit at a Walmart, captured on surveillance video. They returned to wait for Teresa, who had cut short a family vacation in Connecticut and flown home alone that night, having been driven to LaGuardia Airport by Mark earlier that day. She was last seen alive on airport surveillance footage. Upon returning home, she was ambushed and killed with seventeen hammer blows. Wright and Rodgers then drove back to Missouri.
Aftermath and Investigation
Teresa's body was discovered on the morning of June 29, 2015, by a family friend whom Mark had asked to check on her. A hammer was found next to her body. No arrests occurred for nearly two months until police arrested Rodgers and Wright in Missouri in August 2015, following a tip. Rodgers' girlfriend told police Rodgers had admitted that Mark hired Wright, who in turn hired Rodgers, to kill Teresa. Mark Sievers, already under suspicion after being observed disposing of computer equipment following Teresa's funeral, was charged with murder in December 2015.
Trials and Sentencing
Wright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 as part of a plea deal requiring his testimony, and received a 25-year sentence. Rodgers was convicted by a Lee County jury on October 23, 2019, of second-degree murder and trespassing, and was sentenced to life in prison on December 12, 2019. Mark Sievers was convicted of first-degree murder on December 4, 2019; the jury recommended a death sentence, which Judge Bruce Kyle imposed on January 3, 2020. His conviction and death sentence were affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court on November 17, 2022, though he subsequently sought a rehearing.
Teresa Sievers (born Teresa Ann Grace Tottenham) is born in Derby, Connecticut.
2003
Teresa marries Mark Sievers.
2006
The Sievers family moves to Bonita Springs, Florida.
2015-06-27
Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. and Jimmy Ray Rodgers drive from Missouri to the Sievers' home in Bonita Springs, Florida.
2015-06-28
Wright and Rodgers arrive at the Sievers home, disable the alarm, and later ambush and kill Teresa Sievers with a hammer after she returns from a flight.
2015-06-29
Teresa Sievers' body is discovered at her home by a family friend.
2015-08
Police arrest Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. and Jimmy Ray Rodgers in Missouri and charge them with murder.
2015-12
Mark Sievers is arrested and charged with murder for allegedly masterminding the killing.
2016-05-11
Teresa's mother is granted custody of the Sievers' children.
2016
Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. pleads guilty to second-degree murder and is sentenced to 25 years in prison.
2019-10-23
A Lee County jury finds Jimmy Ray Rodgers guilty of second-degree murder and trespassing.
2019-12-04
Mark Sievers is convicted of first-degree murder.
2019-12-12
Jimmy Ray Rodgers is sentenced to life in prison.
2020-01-03
Judge Bruce Kyle sentences Mark Sievers to death.
2022-11-17
The Florida Supreme Court affirms Mark Sievers' conviction and death sentence.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
That Chapter / 27 min
The Case of Teresa Sievers
People
Curtis Wayne Wright Jr.
CONVICTED
Pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testimony; sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Mark Sievers
CONVICTED
Husband of Teresa Sievers; convicted of first-degree murder for orchestrating the killing for life insurance money; sentenced to death.
Teresa Sievers
VICTIM
46-year-old physician bludgeoned to death at her Bonita Springs, Florida home in June 2015.
Jimmy Ray Rodgers
CONVICTED
Convicted of second-degree murder and trespassing; sentenced to life in prison.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
mugshot
Mark Sievers
Credit: Florida Department of Corrections · Public domain · Source
Teresa Sievers, a 46-year-old doctor, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer at her Bonita Springs, Florida home in June 2015. Her husband, Mark Sievers, was later convicted of orchestrating the murder for life insurance money, along with two accomplices, Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. and Jimmy Ray Rodgers, who carried out the killing.
Where did the murder happen?
Bonita Springs, Florida.
Who was convicted?
Curtis Wayne Wright Jr. (Pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testimony; sentenced to 25 years in prison.), Mark Sievers (Husband of Teresa Sievers; convicted of first-degree murder for orchestrating the killing for life insurance money; sentenced to death.), and Jimmy Ray Rodgers (Convicted of second-degree murder and trespassing; sentenced to life in prison.).
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