In the early morning hours of October 24, 2017, the life of 27-year-old Megan Nieder was tragically cut short in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. She and a companion, 40-year-old Joseph Finger, were riding a motorcycle near the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Bellerive Boulevard when they were both fatally shot. The motorcycle they were riding had been reported stolen the previous month.
When police arrived at the scene around 1:10 a.m., they found Nieder and Finger deceased from gunshot wounds. An unknown individual was seen fleeing the area on foot.
The investigation into the double homicide led authorities to Darnell Rogers. Evidence from the scene included shell casings from two different firearms, suggesting a complex and violent encounter. Investigators discovered that Finger had been carrying a significant amount of cash, which was missing. A critical breakthrough came from Rogers' own actions. While incarcerated for a separate robbery that occurred shortly after the murders, he made phone calls instructing relatives to get rid of a black purse. Police intercepted these calls and recovered the purse from the basement of Rogers' parents' home. The purse contained a strap that matched an item found at the crime scene and, crucially, bore Finger's DNA. Further investigation of cellphone records placed Rogers in communication with Finger just before the fatal shooting.
Years after the incident, in October 2024, Darnell Rogers, then 29, accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, and four counts of armed criminal action. The judge, while expressing his disapproval of the agreement, sentenced Rogers to 10 years in prison. This sentence is to be served concurrently with a 10-year sentence he was already serving for the other robbery. The resolution of the case through a plea bargain left the families of Megan Nieder and Joseph Finger with a sense of sorrow and unanswered questions.
