Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Greene County man will spend the rest of his life in prison for fatally shooting two people in Waynesburg in 2022.
Cortland Rogers, 31, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for killing Kevin Williford and Judy Hunter on Feb. 1, 2022. On Thursday, a Greene County Judge ordered Rogers to serve two mandatory life-in-prison sentences. The case was investigated by the Waynesburg Borough Police Department.
Rogers was also sentenced Thursday to a concurrent 15-to-60-year prison term for kidnapping two other people, and assaulting the female victim, at a different home, near the time of the murders.
“The defendant’s actions were senseless and cruel, taking the lives of two individuals who did not deserve such a fate,” said Attorney General Sunday. “In the days that followed, he continued his violence by kidnapping and assaulting two more victims. I commend the investigators and prosecutors whose hard work ensured that Cortland Rogers will no longer be a threat to our communities.”
Shawna Smith, Rogers’ girlfriend at the time, is charged with similar offenses. Her case is pending.
On February 1, 2022, Rogers and Smith went to a home in Waynesburg and confronted Williford and Hunter about money they felt they were owed. Rogers shot Williford first, then Hunter, so as not to leave any witnesses, according to the investigation.
The victims were found about two weeks later, the same day Rogers and Smith perpetrated the kidnapping. Those victims were lured to a home and held captive at gunpoint.
This case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorneys General Kara M. Rice and Alicia S. Werner.
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