Prosecutor: Death penalty possible for man in boater's death


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A 36-year-old man could face the death penalty in the death of a boater who went missing while traveling from Gulf Shores, Alabama, to the Florida Panhandle.

The News Journal (http://on.pnj.com/21pynio ) reports Michael Paul Rodgers was picked up in Louisiana on fraud and theft charges after officials say he tried to assume the identity of 62-year-old James Gunther. He's now in the Escambia County Jail in Florida, where he also faces homicide and sex offender violation charges.

Gunther's family called authorities April 1 after he didn't contact them for several days during an annual boating trip to Port St. Joe. The boat was found anchored and abandoned near Fort McCree.

State Attorney Bill Eddins tells the newspaper his office will seek the death penalty.

Records don't indicate whether Rodgers has a lawyer.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast