Man Convicted of Love Triangle Slaying

A Fairfax County man was convicted yesterday of first-degree murder in the June 2007 shooting of a man who named his killer before he died.

Witnesses testified that Todd J. Rogers, 31, of Manassas Park was dating a woman from the Beacon Hill area of Fairfax, had bought her an engagement ring and was planning to propose to her. Prosecutors said this irritated the woman's ex-boyfriend, John P. Bloxham, 42, and that Bloxham waited outside the woman's house June 30, then got in Rogers' truck when he left.

Witnesses saw flashes inside the truck, and then the truck rolled backward down Phillips Drive. A woman who ran to the truck said Rogers told her to call his mother and "tell her John did it." Bloxham's attorneys said he acted in self-defense against the larger Rogers, but prosecutors said scars on Rogers' head indicated he was also pistol-whipped as he drove. This morning, the jury will consider a possible sentence of 20 years to life.


-- Tom Jackman

WaPo

Channel 10

Update: John Bloxham was sentenced to 35 years by the Jury. The judge may uphold or reduce the sentence.