Emily Rogers death: Nicholas Matzen takes stand in his own defense

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend took the stand in his own defense on Thursday, March 6. 

Matzen is charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide and one count of hiding a corpse, accused of strangling Emily Rogers to death in 2022 as she was breaking up with him. He pleaded not guilty in October 2022. 

Matzen on the stand

What we know:

Rogers disappeared from her Milwaukee home nearly three years ago and now Matzen, her ex-boyfriend, is on trial for allegedly killing her. 

On the stand Thursday, Matzen said he did not kill Rogers. He had been released from jail the same day Rogers was last heard from. 

What they're saying:

"When you see Emily last, she’s alive? True?" asked Matzen's defense attorney, Scott Anderson. 

"Yes," Matzen answered. 

"Where is the last place you see Emily Rogers?" Anderson asked. 

"At the house, before she goes to work," Matzen replied. 

Matzen said later, he went back to the home he shared with Rogers and their 1-year-old daughter – along with Felix Torres. He said he was getting rid of a 400-pound sex dol; that Matzen said Torres then drove off with. He was contradicting Torres' testimony that he got sick, while helping Matzen dump Rogers' body. 

Matzen's jailhouse admission

Matzen admitted he confessed to killing Rogers to a friend in jail phone calls. But on Thursday, He claimed that was a ruse. 

"I have an idea. This girl I've known my whole life, my child's mother's best friend, she's really having a tough time right now. Here's how I'm going to fix it. I'm going to tell her I killed her.' Right? That's the game plan," said Dan Flaherty, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney. 

"That's the story we came up with together," Matzen testified. 

Trial history

The backstory:

In court on Wednesday, March 5, a man that was given immunity during the investigation took the stand.

Back on April 27, Felix Torres said his brother called him, saying that he needed help. More specifically, his brother's friend, Matzen, needed help. Torres said he and Matzen went to the house he and Rogers shared near 24th and Becher.

"He spoke in riddles. It was over. He said it was done. Said they were done, and he had to go grab clothes for the baby," Torres said. "They were going to have a cordial separation."

Torres said he helped Matzen roll up Rogers in a rug and put her body in a car trunk, and the two drove to an industrial area in St. Francis.

Missing woman

The backstory:

Milwaukee police were called to a home near 25th and Becher on April 30, 2022, for a welfare check of Rogers; she and Matzen lived there.

A friend had reported Rogers missing after not hearing from her for a few days; she had repeatedly reached out to Rogers on April 28, 2022, but did not hear back.

On May 2, 2022 a search for Rogers was conducted in the Burnham Park area near where the 23-year-old lived. A close friend told FOX6 News she had found Rogers' phone in some bushes near 36th and Branting.

Milwaukee police blocked off Burnham Park in all directions for most of the afternoon, but did not confirm at the time that the search was connected to Rogers. The same day, police confirmed that Rogers' 1-year-old daughter was found safe after family said the girl was also missing.

Rogers' mom and dad traveled to Milwaukee from Texas to search for their daughter. On May 3, 2022, they and others conducted their own search.

Milwaukee police confirmed that same day that there was reasonable suspicion to believe that Rogers' disappearance was not voluntary, and she may have been the victim of foul play. A squad car was parked outside her home, and a detective was seen getting surveillance video from a nearby convenience store.

On Thursday, May 5, 2022, police announced Rogers' body was found in a wooded area behind a building in an industrial park near Clement and Waterford in St. Francis.

An autopsy ruled her cause of death asphyxia in the manner of homicide.

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