Jury has verdict in case of man accused of killing a Kent grandmother during burglary
A man accused of killing a Kent grandmother while burglarizing her home has been convicted.
Jurors found 28-year-old Lance Gene Francoise Rougeau guilty of first-degree murder Friday for the death of Linda Sweezer.
They also found him guilty of first-degree burglary, residential burglary and motor vehicle theft after about two days of deliberations.
Rougeau is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Sweezer’s body was found burned along a Pierce County road Oct. 24, 2017 near 24th Street Court East and 169th Avenue East.
Prosecutors told the jury that the 64-year-old had stab wounds to her head and neck and that she’d been strangled.
Police later found Sweezer’s 4-month-old granddaughter, who she’d been in the process of adopting, alone at her home in the 23200 block of 105th Avenue Southeast.
Prosecutors said there were signs of a struggle at the home and that investigators found Rougeau’s blood and Sweezer’s at the scene.
Her vehicle was found a couple miles from her body.
Prosecutors said Rougeau’s DNA was found inside the vehicle as well.
They also argued that Rougeau burglarized another home soon after Sweezer’s, taking a backpack that was later found at Rougeau’s mother’s home. The keys to Sweezer’s vehicle were inside.
Rougeau argued at trial that DNA evidence was left untested in the case and that there was evidence to suggest other people were involved.
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 12:45 PM.
