In the summer of 2014, the Baton Rouge community was rocked by the violent death of a local television personality, a man who had crafted a public image of charm and community spirit. Scott Rogers, a 52-year-old male and host of the talk show 'About Town,' was found dead in his St. Gabriel home on August 27th. He had been killed by a single gunshot to the head.
The man who pulled the trigger was his 36-year-old son-in-law, Mathew Hodgkinson, who was also discovered at the scene with a severe, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation that followed peeled back the layers of a complex and disturbing story that spanned continents and decades. Authorities quickly classified the case as a murder-suicide. Hodgkinson, who was also Rogers' former lover, was rushed to a local hospital and placed on life support. He remained in a coma for nine days before succumbing to his injuries on September 5th. His death officially closed the case, leaving a trail of unanswered questions and unsettling revelations in its wake.
As detectives delved into the lives of the two men, a narrative of deception and desperation began to emerge. Just two weeks before the fatal shooting, federal authorities had removed an adopted child and a foster child from Rogers' home. Rogers was reportedly under federal investigation for potential fraud related to his naturalization and adoption paperwork. This scrutiny appears to have been the catalyst for the tragic events that unfolded. A note found at the scene, believed to have been written by Hodgkinson, read, 'They broke our happy loving home...They do not get to take Scott too.'
The relationship between Rogers and Hodgkinson was as unconventional as it was tragic. It was revealed that Hodgkinson had married Rogers' daughter in what investigators described as a 'sham marriage.' The primary purpose of the union was to allow Hodgkinson, a British national, to remain in the United States with Rogers. The public persona of Scott Rogers, the affable TV host, crumbled as a darker, more manipulative side was exposed, culminating in a violent end that left a community in disbelief.
