HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Hillsborough County state attorney is seeking the death penalty for a man accused of murdering a teacher.
Investigators say on May 27, Matthew Terry murdered his girlfriend, Kay Baker, in Lithia and she was found with severe upper body trauma.
Terry's ex-girlfriend Michelle Rogers spoke with 10 Tampa Bay to ensure this brutal act of domestic violence doesn’t kill anyone else.
Rogers said she started dating Terry in 2015 and they had a child together. She also said Terry seemed like a nice guy when she first met him.
"He comes across as a very normal, caring person," she said. "He just had a very likeable personality and he could get people to believe pretty much anything he wanted them to."
That was a trait Rogers said scares her now.
"When I found out what happened to Kay Baker, my heart fell to the floor," she said.
Rogers said Terry lived in the Tampa Bay area in 2020 after he was released from prison in Michigan. He served time for hurting Rogers in 2017, and attempting to kill her, she said. He was charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm.
Those details from that incident are too gruesome for Rogers to recall as she described it as a similar situation with Baker. Hillsborough County deputies described the crime scene in Lithia as “horrific.”
"Although that news was shocking, I knew all along (it would happen) because of what had happened to me," Rogers said.
Rogers also said she fought to keep Terry in jail, but after three years he was released and five months later, he was accused of murdering Baker.
"I think in this case it does warrant the option for the death penalty for the jury to choose," Rogers added.
Suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren previously said he wasn't going to seek the death penalty for Terry because that was what the Baker family wanted.
“My heart goes out to Kay and her family. My decision to seek life in prison was based in large part on my conversations with Kay's parents, who wanted to see the defendant locked up for the rest of his life as quickly as possible, without the extensive delays and appeals that come with seeking the death penalty," he said in a statement. "It's a shame the governor's political stunt may delay the justice they deserve, especially if they weren't consulted before the decision was changed.”
Susan Lopez, who is stepping into the role as Hillsborough state attorney, said she will be seeking the death penalty for Terry.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.