Inset: Dmitri G. Rogatchev (Peoria Police Dept.); Background: the area where he allegedly killed Sandra Jackson inside of her home (WEEK screenshot/YouTube)
A 46-year-old former live-in caregiver in Illinois will likely spend the rest of his days behind bars for killing a 75-year-old woman in his care, beating her to death after becoming frustrated with how loud she kept the volume of her television.
Tenth Circuit Court Judge John P. Vespa on Monday ordered Dmitri G. Rogatchev to serve a sentence of 60 years in a state correctional facility for the 2019 slaying of Sandra Jackson, authorities announced.
A Peoria County jury last month found Rogatchev guilty on one count of first-degree murder in the elderly woman’s death.
“Rogatchev became frustrated with Sandra because she had the television on too loud,” prosecutors said. “While arguing over the noise, Rogatchev became enraged and hit and kicked Sandra, ultimately causing a fatal brain injury.”
According to a news release from the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, officers with the Peoria Police Department at about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2019, responded to a 911 call coming from an apartment complex in the 500 block of NE Monroe about an unconscious elderly woman, later identified as Jackson.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located Jackson inside the apartment, describing her as “not alert.” Emergency medical personnel transported Jackson to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center for evaluation and treatment.
Police spoke to Rogatchev, Jackson’s live-in caregiver, who told them that at about 11 p.m. that evening, Jackson had drank wine with her prescription medication — which included hydrocodone and muscle relaxers — and then fell asleep. He said Jackson woke him up again at about 2 a.m. seeking more pain medication, but he refused, the Journal Star reported. As she walked away from him, he claimed she fell to the floor, so he picked her up, put her in a chair and called 911.
However, police said at about 6:19 a.m. they received a call from a hospital administrator who informed authorities that they believed Jackson was the victim of elder abuse and had suffered “serious life-threatening injuries.”
Authorities on Dec. 4, placed Rogatchev under arrest and transported him to the Peoria County Jail, initially on the charge of aggravated domestic battery. Also on Dec. 4, Jackson succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
According to prosecutors, Rogatchev’s claims about what transpired prior to him calling 911 were undercut by the evidence. The emergency room doctor who treated Jackson told police that “there was not a drop of alcohol found in Sandra (Jackson’s) blood and that her brain injuries could not have happened from a fall.”
A subsequent autopsy determined that Jackson’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was “severe intracranial hemorrhages in her brain, due to blunt force trauma,” per the Journal Star.
Police then spoke to Rogatchev again and he reportedly admitted that he got mad and struck Jackson in the head, but claimed he was so upset that he could not remember exactly what happened.
The prosecutors’ office said that under Illinois state law, Rogatchev will be required to serve 100% of his 60-year sentence.
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