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Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced to Up to 40 Years in Prison for 2017 Alien Cult-Related Murder

Barbara Rogers was sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for a crime she alleges was caused by an online alien cult.

A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison for the 2017 murder of her boyfriend, a crime she alleges was caused by an online alien cult. Barbara Rogers, 42, was sentenced on Monday after being found guilty in March of third-degree murder for fatally shooting her boyfriend, Steven Mineo, in the head. Prosecutors allege the couple belonged to the “Sherry Shriner” online cult, which focused on aliens and the apocalypse. Rogers has maintained the shooting was an accident, telling authorities Mineo put the gun to his head, wrapped her hands around the weapon, and made her pull the trigger. “My boyfriend had a gun. He told me to hold it here and press the trigger. Oh my God, he's dead!” Rogers told dispatchers in the July 2017 911 call. The 42-year-old, who claimed to not know the gun was loaded, alleges the cult turned against the pair, prompting Mineo to ask her to kill him. “I was not in control of the situation that happened. I was not the dominating party in that situation,” Rogers told reporters on Monday.