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West Virginia man gets jail for killing mother, torching car with her inside

CLAY COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A man accused of killing his mother in Clay County has been sentenced to almost four decades in prison.

According to the Clay County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Johnny Rogers, of Widen, West Virginia, was sentenced to 38 years in prison in court today, June 5, 2023. He pleaded guilty in April 2023 to voluntary manslaughter, use or presentment of a firearm during commission of a felony, destruction of property and 3rd-degree arson.

On April 20, 2022, West Virginia State Police Troopers responded to a vehicle fire in the Widen area around 4:30 p.m. Troopers said the burnt Chrysler 200 appeared to have been pushed over an embankment along Widen Ridge Road with charred human remains in the driver’s seat. According to WVSP, the remains were identified as Darlene Faye Jackson, the vehicle owner and Rogers’ mother.

A criminal complaint from the time of the incident stated that Rogers initially told troopers his mother had dropped him off on Widen Ridge Road around 5:30 a.m. that morning to go turkey hunting before she drove to another residence to drop food off to another woman. He then allegedly told troopers he walked home around 7 a.m. and “began to worry” when his mother hadn’t returned that afternoon. Troopers say he then told them that he drove on his four-wheeler and found his mother’s burnt vehicle, at which time he called his sister who contacted 911.

Troopers say after speaking with Rogers, they went to the home of the woman Rogers had told them his mother had gone to visit in order to verify his statement. The criminal complaint stated the woman told troopers she had not spoken with Jackson in several months and had no knowledge of Jackson coming to her home that day.

According to the complaint, Rogers was then questioned again and admitted to shooting Jackson in the head, pushing her vehicle over the embankment and setting the vehicle on fire with her inside before returning to their home.