Sievers murder suspect appears in court for case management conference

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Curtis Wayne Wright, one of the men accused in the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers, appeared in court on Wednesday for a case management hearing.

Wright walked into Judge Bruce Kyle’s courtroom in seemingly good spirits, at one point sharing a quick laugh with his attorney.

During the brief hearing, Wright’s attorney Elizabeth Parker said she still hasn’t received all of the evidence gathered by the state. The prosecutor said they’ve handed over more than 29,000 pages of documents and are gathering even more.

Attorneys also revealed there are around 100 potential witnesses that may be called to testify in the case.

“They’re in Missouri, and there are some in Connecticut, and there’s evidence retrieved in Arizona, so realistically speaking to conduct depositions it’s going to take a while,” said Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter.

Wright, a childhood friend of Teresa Sievers’ husband, Mark Sievers, is charged with second-degree murder. Wright’s mother and sister were in the courtroom for Wednesday’s hearing, but they remained silent as they walked out of the courtroom.

Documents released on Tuesday reveal that Taylor Shomaker, the girlfriend of Wright’s alleged accomplice Jimmy Rodgers, told investigators Wright was hired by Mark Sievers to kill his wife and that Wright was going to pay Rodgers $10,000 to help. Local defense attorney Joe Viacava, who is not affiliated with the case, says that may not hold up in court.

“You have to jump to inference that they have no money, jump to the inference therefore I got the money from killing somebody, which is stacked on another inference that I committed the crime,” said Viacava.

In court Wednesday, Wright’s attorney also declared there are no mental competency issues with her client at this time. His next court hearing is scheduled for March 8.