Monroe County woman convicted in cult-related slaying of boyfriend

STROUDSBURG (AP) — A woman has been convicted of killing her boyfriend, which she said he asked her to do because of issues with an online cult.

Jurors in Monroe County deliberated for nine hours before convicting 42-year-old Barbara Rogers of third-degree murder Friday in the death of 32-year-old Steven Mineo.

Authorities said she shot Mineo in the forehead from point-blank range in July 2017 in their Coolbaugh Township apartment.

Pocono Mountain regional police say Rogers told officers that Mineo asked her to kill him because he believed the leader of the cult was a “reptilian” pretending to be a human.

She called the shooting accidental, saying she didn’t know the gun was loaded. Defense attorney Richard Galloway said an appeal is planned.