Charges filed against former boyfriend in homicide of Emily Rogers
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Charges have been filed in the homicide of Emily Rogers.
Nicholas Matzen, 35, is charged with first degree reckless homicide and hiding a corpse.
According to a criminal complaint, Matzen is Rogers' former boyfriend and the father of her child.
On April 30, police responded to the area near 25th and Becher to check on the welfare of Rogers. She was reported missing by a friend on April 28 after she was not heard from her for a few days.
The complaint says Matzen had been arrested for a hit-and-run and had been in jail from April 17-27. During this time, Rogers reportedly told a friend she planned to break up with Matzen.
Detectives spoke with a neighbor who reported seeing Matzen with scratches on his face, that he said came from his dog. A friend told investigators this was suspicious because neither Rogers nor Matzen had a dog.
Officers then spoke with an individual who received a call from Matzen on April 27. Matzen reportedly stated, "I [explicit] up, I hurt her" and said that Rogers was dead.
The individual stated that Matzen left for a while with another person and upon returning, said "The job is done. We don't have anything to worry about."
The complaint says at some point, Matzen admitted to his friend that he had broken Rogers' neck. Matzen reportedly told him that Rogers had been talking to another guy, and the truth came out the day he was released from jail.
Investigators spoke with another individual who stated that Matzen asked him for help moving Rogers' body. He admitted to helping carry her body out of the house and into a vehicle before driving to a small industrial park.
Officers discovered Rogers' body concealed beneath a discarded Christmas tree in a slightly wooded edge of a retention pond in St. Francis.
An autopsy revealed Rogers' cause of death to be asphyxia and ruled the death a homicide.
Matzen reportedly told this friend that Rogers was leaving him and that he "lost it" and strangled her.
When questioned, Matzen told detectives that he returned home from custody on the morning of April 27 and Rogers told him their relationship wasn't working out. Matzen claimed he stepped out for 20-30 minutes to get some air and when he returned, Rogers was gone. He claimed the scratch on his face was from a friend's dog.
Detectives falsely told Matzen that a neighbor's doorbell camera had captured him carrying a body out of the back door of the house. Matzen replied that he was carrying a 400-pound sex doll.
Detectives obtained Facebook messages from Rogers' account on April 27. At 9:43 p.m. Rogers writes, "He showed up here" and "I literally had to force him to leave." The person responded, "U Ok?" and Rogers replied, "Not exactly," later saying, "I'll call you in a minute" and "if I can."
At his initial appearance on Wednesday, May 11, the court announced a $500,000 cash bail for Matzen. His next court appearance is set for May 19.