SYRACUSE (AP) -- The trial of a 45-year-old Syracuse man charged with killing his pregnant estranged wife nearly two decades ago is under way in Onondaga County Court.
John Rogers is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Michelle Thomas, who was seven months pregnant when she was strangled in 1991. Her body and that of her fetus were found under debris behind a Syracuse restaurant.
Rogers was arrested last November after a cold case task force got involved.
County Judge Joseph Fahey has rejected defense arguments that the nearly two-decade delay in filing charges unfairly prejudiced Rogers' right to a fair trial. He also ruled that prosecutors can present evidence of prior uncharged incidents of domestic violence.
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