He Stayed for One Week in His House With His Lifeless Parents
On November 28, 2016, Cameron Rogers placed a call to 911, confessing to the murders of his parents. The call was traced back to an abandoned building under construction, which was located in Montreal.
When officers picked up Cameron from the side of the road, he audibly breathed a sigh of relief. He was swiftly taken into custody where the gruesome reality behind his actions was revealed. A week prior, on November 20th, 2016, Cameron was chopping up a melon in the kitchen while his mother, Merrill, ground herbs for a party dish she was making.
The family was expected to attend a party later that afternoon and were preparing for it. But while Cameron sliced through the flesh of the melons, a dark plan began to formulate in his mind. What if he killed his parents?
He and his parents had argued the night before - one of many, and despite the passing of the hours since then, Cameron was still stewing over it. He was tired of being dictated, tired of being controlled, and tired of being treated like a child.
For over an hour, Cameron considered his plan. Ridding himself of his parents once and for all would mean total autonomy. Eventually, he came to a decision. He left the kitchen and went into the garage.
He removed a wooden sword he had fashioned himself from its holder and went back to join his mother in the kitchen. As she turned her back to him, he swung the sword, hitting her across the back of her head.
She cried out and turned to face him, and he struck her once more in the face. Then, he plunged the sword into her chest. But it was blunt, and although it did some damage, it wasn't the killing blow.
He dropped the sword and grabbed a nearby knife. David Rogers heard his wife's cries from across the house. He raced to the kitchen and was greeted by a gruesome scene of his wife lying on the kitchen floor.
Cameron, still clutching the knife he had used to his mother, swiftly pierced into his father's chest, immediately puncturing his lung. His father dropped to the floor and died shortly after. As for Merrill, she was gravely injured, but far from death.
Just then, the phone rang. Cameron knew he had to act as if everything was normal. It was his uncle Graham, Merrill's brother, asking to speak to his sister. Cameron concocted a lie that his parents were ill with the flu and resting in bed, assuring his uncle that everything was fine.
As his mother lay dying, Cameron left the kitchen, unable to look at her. He then went upstairs to his bedroom and waited until morning when her cries had subsided and she was dead.
He went to the kitchen where his parents’ corpses laid. He grabbed a suitcase and rolled his father's corpse inside of it haphazardly. He then got a tarp and wrapped his mother in it. He dragged the two bodies out behind the shed in the garden and left them there.
Then, He went back to clean the scene. Cameron's parents owned a steam cleaner, and he used this to try to clean up the blood. He also used a mop. He then took the knives and wooden sword out to the garbage bin in the garage and dumped them inside.
Cameron didn't flee immediately after the murders. His plan was naive and wasn't well thought out. He stayed in the family home for a full week after his parents were killed, plotting out his next move.
He decided that he would scour the house for money and valuables he could sell. Then he took his mother's minivan and drove to the train station. Once there, he bought a ticket to Montreal and traveled to the border, armed with a bus ticket to New York.
But his plan crumbled when the Border Patrol asked him why he was going. Cameron told them he planned to move to the United States. When asked to present his visa, he could not produce one and was sent back to the city.
Cameron wandered around Montreal for hours before deciding to call 911 and confess to his crimes. David and Merrill had adopted Cameron in 1994 and by all accounts had doted on their son. He was taken on international vacations and family cruises, however, his parents wanted him to lead a structured life.
Cameron had learning difficulties and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was suspected of having autism. After high school, Cameron enrolled in college and his parents made him study a degree in mechanical engineering.
Cameron didn't want to do this and began to resent his parents. They also wouldn't allow him to get a part-time job as they wanted him to focus on his studies. They told him that if he needed anything, they would buy it for him in exchange for a few household and gardening chores.
But Cameron wasn't happy with this arrangement and the three would often engage in screaming matches about the situation.
During Cameron's interrogation at the Montreal police station, he openly confessed to killing his parents. Officers were then dispatched to the Rogers home in Ottawa where they made the gruesome discovery.
Out in the harsh Canadian winter, the bodies of Cameron's parents had frozen over. Forensic investigators examined the scene for five days, noting Cameron's attempt at cleaning the scene as well as finding the weapons he had used to kill his parents.
They had enough to incriminate him. Even during his interview, Cameron couldn't quite give a reason as to why he killed his parents. When asked what he thought it would accomplish, he simply said, nothing, and that it was an impulsive crime.
He cried throughout the interview and rocked back and forth, seemingly displaying genuine anguish. Whether this was for what he had done or simply because he didn't get away with it, we will never know.
Cameron was charged with two counts of first-degree murder to which he pleaded not guilty. He then changed his plea to guilty of manslaughter, which is a lesser charge, but this was rejected by the prosecution.
During Cameron's trial, his defense team began to make their opening statements, but the process was halted when Cameron made the shocking allegation that his father had sexually abused him for most of his life.
A mistrial was declared and the jury was dismissed. When his team probed him for more details about the alleged abuse, Cameron's story crumbled and he admitted it was all a lie. As the trial proceeded once more, Cameron's defense argued that Cameron had diminished responsibility due to his diagnosis as well as his autism.
They declared it a spur-of-the-moment crime and that it should be accordingly treated as such, but this was disregarded as his confessions were used as evidence that the plan had been calculated. Cameron himself had admitted to thinking about the plan for an hour before he enacted it.
He had also left his mother to die for hours instead of calling emergency services. He then attempted to hide the bodies, clean up the scene, and flee the country, all showing the presence of mind and that he was aware that his actions were morally wrong.
Cameron was forced to listen to 24 victim impact statements from the family and friends of David and Merrill. The judge presiding over the case then gave Cameron the option of pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder to which Cameron eventually agreed.
He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole in 2038. Cameron's uncle made a statement to the press after the sentencing, saying that the extended family was unhappy that Cameron could potentially be released and that they feared for their safety in the future.
The trial revealed to all that Cameron was dangerously unpredictable, even though he seemed not to be able to comprehend his actions. The case of Cameron Rogers serves as a grim reminder of the complexities of family relationships and the delicate balance between love, nurture, and individual autonomy.
It stands as a chilling example of the lengths to which anger, resentment, and frustration can drive someone, even against those who have shown them love and support. In the end, the Rogers family and their loved ones must find solace in their shared memories of David and Merrill.
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