Text after 7 killed in Alabama said ‘everything has been dealt with,’ affidavit says

MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – Two men facing capital murder charges in Morgan County were part of a club and wanted to “wipe the slate clean” after members disobeyed, according to arrest warrants for the two.

John Michael Legg, 20, of Danville, and Frederic “Rick” Allen Rogers, 23, were arrested in Oregon Sunday. The two are wanted for the killings of seven people at a home in Morgan County June 4.

Their arrest warrants contain information from a witness interviewed by the FBI who said they lived with Legg and Rogers at the house on Talucah Road where the bodies were found. Three of the victims – Jeremy Roberts, James Benford and Roger Jones Jr. – also lived at the “club” of the “7 deadly sins,” according to the affidavit.

The arrest warrant did not give details on what went on at the home that led them to refer to it in that way, but Morgan County Sheriff Ron Puckett said in a news conference that the club had been in the process of dismantling.

Legg and Rogers were upset the night of the murders about disobedience they perceived toward the club, the witness stated; Legg also was upset over the theft of some firearms. Authorities said the witness told them the two said something to the effect of “We’re going in there by force and wipe the slate clean.”

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call of shots fired about 11:30 p.m. June 4 and found the bodies of Roberts, Benford, Jones, William Zane Hodgin, Emily Brook Payne, Tammy England Muzzey and a 17-year-old girl. All had been shot and their cell phones were missing. A dog also was killed.

About two hours later, authorities said the witness received text messages from Rogers that said “everything has been dealt with” and “if anyone asks you we’re going on vacation.” Rogers also asked the witness to take care of his cat.

Authorities tracked Legg’s cell phone and determined he cut it off about an hour and a half before the murders. It was turned on briefly the next day in Kansas, they said.

Authorities said they determined Legg and Rogers were headed to Salem, Ore., where one of them had family. Authorities in Marion County, Ore., spotted them in a Dodge Charger with Alabama plates and took them into custody without incident.