RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A man charged in the 1995 killing of a 75-year-old Riviera Beach woman has now pleaded guilty and been sentenced, bringing a decades-old case to a close.
Willie Rogers changed his plea to guilty in court today and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Because he has already been in custody, he will serve that sentence concurrently.
Rogers was charged in the murder of Earnestine Mortimore, a 75-year-old Riviera Beach woman whose killing went unsolved for nearly 30 years. Investigators announced in February 2025 that advances in DNA technology helped identify Rogers as the suspect in the case. Detectives said Rogers lived in the neighborhood at the time, and investigators suspected the killing happened during a burglary or robbery that went wrong…