Not guilty plea entered for stabbing murder
Published 4:52 pm Wednesday, December 28, 2022
- Diana Lynne Rogers is led out of the Limestone County Courthouse in this May 2022 file photo.
Diana Lynne Rogers, 39, will be in Limestone County court Feb. 15 for multiple charges related to a fatal stabbing, according to court records. She plead not guilty by reason of disease or defect on Nov. 22, according to court documents.
She was in Limestone County District Court May 9 for a preliminary hearing. Judge R. Gray West bound the case over to the grand jury after hearing testimony from Limestone County Sheriff’s Office investigator Steven Ferguson.
Rogers was charged with capital murder in the stabbing death of Diane Crane Defoor, 58 on April 9, 2022. She was also charged with second-degree burglary and obstructing governmental operations. The grand jury returned an indictment on August 10 with the same charges.
Ferguson told the court that deputies were called to a house on Maiden Court after a call regarding a burglary in progress was reported by the homeowner’s sister. The homeowner was out of town but had a security system that alerted her and her sister to the burglary.
Upon arrival, the deputy located Rogers, her two children and the deceased inside the home. Ferguson described the house as being “in disarray” when he arrived on scene. According to Ferguson, Rogers was found wearing the homeowner’s clothes and jewelry.
Defoor had been staying in an upstairs apartment above the detached garage while working as a housekeeper. The cause of death was ruled to be from a stab wound that pierced Defoor’s lung. Two bloodied knives were also recovered at the scene.
After her arrest, Ferguson told the court that Rogers demanded to speak to Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin. Ferguson testified Rogers told him and McLaughlin, “I’m gonna kill someone, and clearly (I’m) capable.”
District Attorney Brian C.T. Jones appeared pleased by the preliminary proceedings, as the case headed to the grand jury.
“This is basically just the first stop at the train station,” he said.