Judge doesn't buy abuse story in shoestring slaying
By Jake Spring - jspring@thesunnews.com
CONWAY -- A woman pleaded guilty to being an accessory with her former lover in the 2008 strangling of her husband and was sentenced in Horry County Court to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, despite an attempt to show her as an abuse victim to seek a lighter sentence.
Sherry Engel, 54, pleaded guilty to accessory before the fact to voluntary manslaughter in a deal with the Horry County solicitor's office to reduce her sentence. Engel was originally charged with murder and accessory to murder before and after the fact in her husband's death.
She testified Wednesday that before the killing, she was abused by Timmy Rogers, her former lover. Her attorney, Barbara Pratt, said she had hoped to show Engel was a battered woman. Under S.C. law, Engel would be eligible for parole if she was battered by a household member, although the judge ruled that was not the case.
Sherry Engel, right, cries as she sits next to her attorney Barbara Pratt and listens as Rob Engel, her late husband's brother, testifies that he holds her solely responsible for his brother's murder. Engel was sentenced in a plea bargin hearing in Judge Larry Hyman's court in the Horry County Courthouse. Photo by Tom Murray tmurray@thesunnews.com
Sherry Engel Plea Bargain Hearing
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Engel's husband, 53-year-old Frederik Engel, was strangled to death with a shoestring in Myrtle Beach.
The plea hearing was emotional for Engel and the Dutch family members of Frederik Engel, who addressed the courtroom just before the sentencing.
A jury found Engel's former lover, the 43-year-old Rogers, guilty in October of murdering Frederik Engel, and he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Sherry Engel testifiedduring Rogers' trial that she asked her husband to get the mail on April 21, 2008. She then called Rogers, who met Frederik Engel at the mailboxes and strangled him to death.
"Her testimony was very useful, so we are allowing her to plead guilty [to accessory before the fact of voluntary manslaughter]," said Jimmy Richardson, deputy solicitor for Horry County.
Judge Larry Hyman sentenced Engel to the maximum 30 years in prison for the crime. The minimum possible sentence was 15 years.
Engel had begun to cry when Richardson first read the sentencing guidelines for the crime.
At Wednesday's hearing, Engel said she was physically and sexually abused by Rogers. She said Rogers repeatedly threatened to kill her family members, and that kept her from seeking help. Rogers would also beat and abuse her in other ways, she said
Engel described one incident when Rogers wanted to punish her.
"He first took all my clothes off me, and he tied me to a tree, took all my clothes off me, and he tied me to a tree and put duct tape over my mouth and left me there [until the next day]," Engels said. She said he returned and asked if she learned her lesson before he freed her.
Engel regrets that she helped kill her husband, she said.
Her defense that she was abused and had no choice in her role in Frederik Engel's death doesn't hold up, Hyman said as he issued his sentence
"I don't buy your position that you were under duress in this situation," Hyman said. "I'm going to sentence you to 30 years ... I hope you serve every day of it."
Pratt said she hoped the trial showed how battered women can feel trapped, something the average person might find difficult to understand.
"I can understand why Judge Hyman wouldn't understand or buy it, as he said, because he comes from a good situation," Pratt said.
Pratt said that while state law allows women who are battered by a household member to be eligible for parole, in Engel's case, Rogers was not a member of the Engel household. She hopes legislators or the parole board will consider that a person can be battered by someone other than their spouse, Pratt said.
Engel read from a note that Rogers had written during her testimony, demonstrating that she tried to talk Rogers out of killing her husband. Richardson later directed Engel to read from a note she had written to Rogers:
"Each and every day I love you more, right or wrong," Engel said.
Engel described Rogers' behavior as erratic and stalkerlike. For example, Rogers wore Frederik Engel's clothing, taken from his home, at Engel's funeral, Sherry Engel said.
Rik Engel, Frederik Engel's 26-year-old son from a previous marriage, spoke after Sherry Engel's testimony.
"I had always had a bad relationship with my mom, and when my dad met Sherry, she said she'd filled that gap for me," Rik Engel said. "The only thing she did was take my dad away from me."
Rik Engel attended the hearing along with three other family members who flew from their home in the Netherlands to attend the trial.
Rob Engel, Frederik's brother, emphasized Sherry Engel's responsibility for what happened.
"She's wrecked so many lives, and now she's trying to be the victim?" Rob Engel said. "You don't have the right to use the name Engel."
The family was glad the judge issued the maximum sentence, Rob Engel said.
"The mourning just starts now," said De Engel, Rob Engel's wife.
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