Because decomposition had made immediate identification of the body impossible, Fitzgerald said a later autopsy confirmed that it was she and listed her wounds as a “chop” from a machete that fractured her skull and alone was a lethal blow; a stab wound that cut through her breast bone and severed her heart, also lethal; and a stab wound to the pelvic area. A 20-inch machete was recovered in the apartment and DNA testing confirmed it was Walsh’s blood on its blade and Rogers’ fingerprints on its handle, the prosecutor said.

Splatters, stains and droplets of Walsh’s blood also were found throughout the apartment, Fitzgerald added, including on the ring Rogers was wearing when arrested. When Walsh was bleeding all over his apartment carpet, Rogers put her in the bathtub and then watched television, the prosecutor said. When he decided to take a shower the next morning, he removed her body from the bathtub and placed it in a suitcase that he then wrapped in plastic because it was leaking, he said.

In his opening remarks, Rapid City defense attorney Ellery Grey objected to Fitzgerald’s portrayal of premeditated murder and insisted Rogers’ crime was one of passion, fueled by “a high level of intoxication” and a romantic fixation with the victim.