(WTNH) — A local family is seeking justice, months after their loved one was killed.
Doctor Teresa Tottenham Sievers an internist who was also an expert in Eastern and Holistic Medicine was found dead in her home in Bonita Springs, Florida on June 29. She had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer.
One of two men held in the case, 47-year-old Curtis “Wayne” Wright, has just been charged with one count of second-degree murder. Wright is the best friend of Sievers’ husband.
The 46-year-old Dr. Sievers had been with her extended family, and her husband and two children for a vacation in New York for her mother’s birthday. That would turn out to be the last time they saw her. She flew home by herself to Florida after the get together. She talked to her sister, Annie Lisa, briefly while at the airport on her way back, that was their last conversation.
“She hung up, she said I love ya, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” said Annie Lisa.
“I wanted to have all of my children together, I turned 75 in March, I don’t want any presents, I don’t want any party, I just want all of my children together under one roof, actually my whole family, my grandchildren, everybody,” said mother Mary Ann Groves.
Her husband Mark, and her two daughters, Josephine and Carmela, got the news about her death at her mother’s home in Seymour, where they had gone after the stay in New York.
Sievers was a well known member of her community before moving to Florida in 2006. She had been valedictorian at Ansonia High school, she went to college at Fairfield University before going onto medical school at Ross University, and then to the University of Florida, where she was awarded Resident of the Year.
Dr. Sievers was found dead in her home by a friend who was a doctor, who had been sent there by the family after she failed to show up for work on Monday.
Curtis “Wayne” Wright, one of the men being held in connection with Sievers’ death, attended the Sievers’ wedding and was also there when she was laid to rest because he was the best friend of Sievers’ husband.
“The man who may be charged with her murder was at her funeral, right, we ate with him, he was at our condo, we spent a great deal of time with him and his wife,” said Annie Lisa.
The family has so many questions about the death of Dr. Teresa Sievers.
“My sister hated going home alone and she was the kind of person that was all about security and being secure and having her alarm on and knowing that she was safe,” said Annie Lisa. “I just can’t imagine how terrified she was when she got home and found out that she wasn’t alone and knew she was going to die.”
The other suspect in this case, 25-year-old Jimmy Rodgers, is currently serving six months in federal prison for a parole violation. He will soon be charged in the Sievers case. The family is anxious to get on with a trial, even though it means reliving the nightmare. They just want to know why.
