Suspect in slaying of reality show contestant was allegedly having an affair with her, her sister says
When detectives went to a home in the 5000 block of West 106th Street in Lennox, they found Lisa Marie Naegle’s body in a shallow grave.
A nursing student arrested in the death of a former reality show contestant was allegedly having an affair with her and gave her family inconsistent stories about being with her after she disappeared, the dead woman’s sister said.
As Lisa Marie Naegle’s family investigated her disappearance on Sunday, they tracked down surveillance video that showed Naegle entering Jackie Jerome Rogers’ black SUV after a birthday party at a restaurant in Torrance and driving off, her sister, Danielle Naegle-Kaimona, told KABC-TV News. The family also had photographs of the pair at the party and security camera images of them at a gas station, the TV station reported.
But when they confronted Rogers seeking information about Naegle’s whereabouts, he denied having left with her or taking her home, Naegle-Kaimona said. Rogers later admitted to police that he changed his story because he and Naegle, who was married, were having an affair, Naegle-Kaimona told KABC.
Police said Rogers gave information to investigators that led them to believe Naegle had been murdered.
When detectives went to his family’s home in the 5000 block of West 106th Street in Lennox on Tuesday, they found Naegle’s body in a shallow grave.
Rogers, 34, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
The L.A. County coroner’s office will make the final determination of how Naegle died, said Officer Tony Im, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Rogers was a nursing student of Naegle’s. She had taught at West Los Angeles College.
Hours after her body was discovered, her husband, Derek Harryman, expressed devastation on Facebook.
“I love you so much Lisa and will never be the same without you,” he wrote.“Until we meet again baby cakes. My little flower.”
Naegle, who appeared on the E! reality show “Bridalplasty,” went missing after attending a party at the Alpine Village restaurant on Saturday night. She called her husband about 2:30 a.m. Sunday and said she would be grabbing food on her way home.
She never arrived home and didn’t show up to teach her next nursing class.
Calls made to her cellphone went to voicemail, her husband said.
Naegle was reported missing Monday after her family spoke with Rogers.
On Wednesday, West Los Angeles College issued a statement to students and faculty.
“Lisa had been part of the West family for a decade,” college president James Limbaugh said in the statement. “Her colleagues describe her as a well-respected instructor on whom students and faculty knew they could depend.”
Naegle was passionate about teaching and trained hundreds of students at the college as well as nursing homes in the area, according to the school statement.
“Such a life cut short, and during what we usually think of as a joyous time, seems especially tragic,” Limbaugh said. “My sympathies and condolences are with all of you who knew her and to her family.”
A college spokeswoman said no other details were available about Rogers because of student privacy laws.
Naegle competed with other brides for a dream wedding and a plastic surgery procedure in the 2010 reality show. Naegle was eliminated in episode 7.
For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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UPDATES:
12 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from West Los Angeles College.
This article was originally published at 8:15 a.m.
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