GUILTY OH - Kimberly Clupper, 47, & Kendra Carnes, 23, murdered, Massillon, Apr & Aug 2015

Kimberly Clupper was 47

Body found in park may be Massillon-area woman
Posted Apr. 12, 2015 at 5:54 PM

Three tattoos on the body of a woman found Saturday morning in South Sippo Park may have helped a family to come forward to possibly identify a relative.

[...]
After seeing media reports, a family was prompted to contact authorities about a relative missing since Friday. Three tattoos on the woman’s body played a role in helping the family realize they may know the woman, Del Greco said.

[...]
The body of the woman was found between 7:30 and 8 a.m. in the park in the 1400 block of Tremont Avenue SE.

Body found in Massillon park positively identified
By Steven M. Grazier and Christina McCune
Posted Apr 13, 2015 at 10:25 AM - Updated Apr 13, 2015 at 7:20 PM

MASSILLON - The boyfriend of woman found dead Saturday in South Sippo Park called her a “beautiful and lovely person” but also someone troubled by drug use and mental issues.

Randolph Jack Broner Jr. said he last saw Kimberly S. Clupper early Saturday morning when she abruptly left the couple’s residence, 418 Albright Ave. SE, to go out. He said Clupper did not say where she was going.

[...]
Clupper earned money by cleaning apartments in Canton, Broner said. They resided together at the Albright Avenue home for about three months, said Broner. He added that he helped Clupper with personal problems and drug addiction during their time together.

“I took her by the hand and made sure she had a proper ID, so she could go on with life,” he said.

Clupper was divorced and has a son, according to Broner. She was originally from the Akron area, he said.

Kendra Carnes was 23

Woman found in creek ID'd as Kendra Carnes of Waynesburg
Posted Aug. 6, 2015 at 11:37 AM - Updated Aug 6, 2015 at 11:47 AM

MASSILLON - Authorities have not officially released the name of the woman whose body was pulled from Newman Creek on Wednesday as they await confirmation from a fingerprint analysis.

But a name, Kendra N. Carnes, was listed on a police incident report. And pictures on her Facebook page match a description released earlier by police.

Investigators are treating the case as a homicide. An autopsy was underway at the Stark County Coroner’s Office Thursday morning.

Carnes, whose 24th birthday would have been today, according to the police report, is from Waynesburg. The report lists the offense as aggravated murder.

Pictures on a Facebook page for Carnes show the tattoos investigators used to identify the woman, including the name “Jordan Alexander” in script tattooed just below her neck and two paw prints on her upper chest.

---

Kendra Carnes remembered as 'happy, loving person'
By Christina McCune
Posted Aug. 6, 2015 at 10:54 PM

Kendra Carnes grew up in Waynesburg, said Tammy Bailey, her mother. Bailey spent much of the day with family in her Waynesburg home. She said her daughter would have turned 24 on Thursday. Instead of remembering her birthday, she was wondering who killed her and why.

Police continue to investigate Carnes’ death. An autopsy was completed Thursday, and the Stark County Coroner’s Office confirmed Carnes’ identity. Dr. P.S. Murthy declined to provide any other information about the autopsy or the case, saying the investigation is ongoing and is being treated as a homicide.

[...]
Her body was found just after 2 p.m. Wednesday by three teenagers who were fishing in Newman Creek. Capt. Paul Covert of the Massillon Police Department, said Thursday police were trying to determine whether Carnes was killed at the scene or if the murder happened at another location and her body was later placed under the bridge — and how long it had been there.

Arrest in the Kimberly Clupper and and Kendra Carnes murders. Both were killed with .38 caliber revolver and dumped under or near a bridge

Man arrested in connection with murders of Kendra Carnes and Kimberly Clupper
newsnet5.com staff
4:26 PM, Oct 2, 2015 - 7:17 PM, Oct 2, 2015

Leeroy Wilbert Rogers Sr. was taken into custody by Massillon Police and BCI agents in Massillon.

Rogers is charged with two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of 23-year-old Kendra Carnes and 47-year-old Kimberly Clupper.

More about Leeroy Wilbert Rogers

Man charged with two Massillon murders also accused of threatening to shoot another person
The man charged with murdering two women was arrested early this week after he threatened to shoot someone.
By Amy Knapp IndeOnline.com staff writer
Posted Oct. 2, 2015 at 3:21 pm Updated Oct 2, 2015 at 5:48 PM

Massillon police were called to a southeast side address on Wednesday for a domestic dispute involving Leeroy Wilbert Rogers Sr., 58, of 742 Sunset Place SE. When police arrived, they found a loaded .380 handgun in the residence.

[...]
Detective David McConnell said Rogers had an extensive criminal history. Rogers, who is originally from the area, had lived in Texas for some time before returning to Massillon in 2013.

http://m.cantonrep.com/article/20151014/NEWS/151019696
The gun used to kill two women was found in the home of the man now charged with their murders, police say.
That was one of the startling new details revealed Wednesday morning during a court hearing for Leeroy Wilbert Rogers Sr.
The details helped shed light on how city police were able to arrest the 58-year old for the murders of Kimberly Clupper and Kendra Carnes, whose bodies were found in Massillon.
Rogers, who was arrested Oct. 2, wore a red jail jumpsuit during his hearing on charges of aggravated murder before Judge C. Roland Centrone in Municipal Court. He was quiet and calm throughout the hearing.
More at link

http://m.indeonline.com/article/20151014/NEWS/151019696#st_refDomain=m.facebook.com&st_refQuery=/

[...]

In response to questions posed by Massillon Chief Prosecutor John Simpson, Detective David McConnell told the court that a .38-caliber revolver was recovered from Rogers’ home. Police responded to a domestic dispute Sept. 30 involving a woman who also lived at the residence. The woman told police that Rogers had a gun. Rogers also faces criminal damaging charges from an incident the previous day.
The gun found at Rogers’ home was tested by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Special agents from BCI have assisted Massillon Police in both murder cases. Results from the BCI lab show that the gun was an “absolute match” to the weapon used to shoot both women, McConnell said.
Investigators also found that zip ties that were used to bind Clupper’s hands behind her back matched ties found in and on Rogers’ Nissan Sentra. Cable ties were used to keep a headlight attached to the vehicle, McConnell told the court.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/999467440085400/

This is the Facebook page link for Justice for Kendra Carnes

From November:

http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20151120/NEWS/151129960

A grand jury found enough evidence this week to indict Leeroy Wilbert Rogers Sr., 58, of 742 Sunset Place SE, Massillon. Rogers faces two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping, and three weapons-related charges.

The grand jury added two death penalty specifications to each aggravated murder charge. The specifications allege Rogers committed more than one aggravated murder, and that he killed each woman during a kidnapping...

Rogers is charged with killing Kimberly Clupper, 47, whose body was found April 11 in South Sippo Park in Massillon, and Kendra Carnes, 23, whose body was discovered Aug. 5 in Newman Creek. Both women died from gunshot wounds to the head.

Click to expand...

Christina McCune (@cmccuneINDE): https://twitter.com/cmccuneINDE?s=09

Massilllon man accused of killing two women in 2015 has lengthy criminal history https://t.co/sjzFtoegza @indedotcom

Leeroy W. Rogers Sr. facing aggravated murder charges has pretrial hearing this morning in Stark Common Pleas Court @Indedotcom

http://m.cantonrep.com/news/20160819/trial-set-for-next-month-in-massillon-murder-case

A judge continues to review some of the more than 40 motions filed in the case of a Massillon man who is accused of killing two women.

Leeroy W. Rogers Sr., 59, faces two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping and weapons-related charges. He could be sentenced to death if convicted.

However, Stark County Common Pleas Judge Chryssa Hartnett said at Friday's hearing that she hasn't ruled yet on a defense request to dismiss the death penalty component of the case. She's reviewing the prosecution's response opposing the motion.

A trial is set to begin on Sept. 20 with jury selection. The next pretrial is Sept. 2. The abundance of motions filed is not unexpected in a death penalty case. Hartnett has ruled on several of them.

Click to expand...

A jury pool of "well over 100" is expected to be called later this month for the trial of a Massillon man accused of killing two women.

Leeroy W. Rogers Sr., 59, faces the death penalty if he's convicted.

He appeared Friday in Stark County Common Pleas Court as Judge Chryssa Hartnett reviewed some of the more than 50 motions filed in the case.

Rogers faces two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping and weapons-related charges. The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Sept. 20 and testimony on Sept. 26.

Click to expand...

http://m.cantonrep.com/news/20160909/leeroy-rogers-trial-set-for-late-september

Ed Balint (@ebalintREP): https://twitter.com/ebalintREP?s=09

Leeroy Rogers is expected to plead guilty to two counts of aggravated murder and other charges in shooting deaths of two women in Massillon.

Leeroy Rogers is in court for a plea hearing before Stark Common Pleas Court Judge Chryssa Hartnett.

Under plea agreement, Leeroy Rogers would be sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 61 years. Rogers is 59 years old.

Under proposed plea agreement, Leeroy Rogers will not face death penalty. His capital trial had been set to start this month.

Leeroy Rogers, of Massillon, is accused of fatally shooting Kendra Carnes, 23, and Kimberly S. Clupper, 47, in 2015.

Kendra Carnes' body was found in Newman Creek in Massillon. Kimberly Clupper's body was found in South Sippo Park in Massillon.

Plea hearing is underway for Leeroy Rogers on two charges of aggravated murder in deaths of two women in Massillon. https://t.co/X7cfWcRNZT

You are correct he did take a deal!
http://www.indeonline.com/news/20160916/leeroy-rogers-gets-life-term-for-two-massillon-murders

Leeroy Rogers will spend the rest of his life in prison, ending what a judge, prosecutors and detectives called a history of violence spreading from Texas to Massillon.

Rogers pleaded guilty Friday in Stark County Common Pleas Court to two counts of aggravated murder and a slew of other charges. Judge Chryssa Hartnett accepted the plea agreement, avoiding a capital trial and sentencing the 59-year-old Massillon man to life in prison with the opportunity for parole after 61 years. As part of the plea deal, county prosecutors dropped their pursuit of the death penalty.

Click to expand...

http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20160916/leeroy-rogers-gets-life-term-for-two-massillon-murders