Charleston, WV: Trial delayed for homeless man accused in girlfriend's murder

by Cheryl Caswell
Daily Mail staff
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A homeless man accused of murder in the death a girlfriend has had his trial delayed so attorneys and a judge can consider pre-trial issues.

Clayton Eugene "Gino" Rogers has been indicted for the murder of 35-year-old Laura Amos. The woman was also homeless at the time of her death in an abandoned St. Albans house last August.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster, who will preside over the trial, ruled Wednesday that Rogers' rights weren't violated when detectives didn't present him to a magistrate until five hours after his arrest.

Webster also ruled that statements Rogers made to those detectives, including his confession of the crime, can be admitted as evidence against him and considered by a jury.

His court-appointed public defender, Jason Parmer, argued those motions before Webster this week.

But Webster said Rogers willingly spoke with law enforcement officers after he was advised of his Miranda rights and detectives didn't delay his court arraignment simply to obtain a statement.

She noted that magistrate court is typically closed from 6 to 8 p.m. for dinner. Rogers was arrested about 3:15 p.m. Aug. 31 after he was found hiding in the woods in St. Albans.

He was brought to the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department main office in Charleston for questioning, then returned to an area near St. Albans where he directed detectives where to find knives allegedly used in the crime.

At 8:05 p.m., he was arraigned before a magistrate.

Also under Webster's consideration this week are photographs of the victim at the crime scene and taken during her autopsy. Parmer objected to some of the images and said they were gruesome and prejudicial.

Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plants said there are five of "more than a hundred" photographs that he wants to show a jury. On Wednesday, attorneys and Webster deliberated over which will be allowed in the courtroom at trial.

Rogers was originally scheduled to go on trial late last year, but it was delayed while a psychological exam was completed. The trial was scheduled again to begin Monday, but Webster postponed it again until Feb. 18.

The trial is expected to take about a week.

Witnesses told detectives at the crime scene that Rogers and Amos had been "intimate partners." They also said the couple had fought prior to the discovery of her body.