Crime and Cults: Barbara Rogers Sentenced to 15-40 Years

Last week, convicted killer Barbara Rogers, age 44, was sentenced to the 2017 killing of her boyfriend, Steven Mineo. At the time of the killing, Rogers and Mineo, age 33, were having a tiff with an online cult. The cult leader, Sherry Jan Shriner, called Rogers a “vampire witch Reptilian super soldier.” Wow. That’s a lot to unpack.

As a lawyer, I’m fascinated with criminal justice. I don’t practice that segment of law. I binge watch shows on ID (Investigation Discovery) Channel, especially their new show People Magazine Investigates: Cults. The Rogers’ story would be a great profile case.

Mineo was a member of Shriner’s cult. Not sure of the official name; however, Shriner posted 243 videos on her YouTube channel, which started 11 years ago. (Note: Don’t watch the videos and give them any viewership.) All was good until Mineo began dating Rogers.

Shriner was very upset about the relationship. She began to make comments linking Rogers to Reptilians and calling her names. Reptilian humanoids are humans possessing characteristics of reptiles. Conspiracy theorist David Icke claims they are aliens who can shape-shift in order to take control of the human race. Shriner referred to the “New World Order,” where Reptilians would take over Earth. Further, Shriner called out several politicians as being Reptilians in disguise.

Shriner must have thought that by calling Rogers a vampire-witch-Reptilian would end Mineo’s relationship with Rogers. It didn’t. In fact, it led to Mineo criticizing the cult. Mineo and Rogers were publicly ousted from the online cult.

On July 15, 2017, Mineo held a .45 Caliber semi-automatic Glock to his head and commanded Rogers to pull the trigger. She did. Mineo died of a single gunshot wound to the head. In March of 2019, Rogers was found guilty of 3^rd-degree murder and was finally sentenced last week.

The story should end here. But, it does not.

Sherry Shriner died less than a year after Mineo died. She was 54 years old. Reports are she died of natural causes; however, no official obituary from her family was ever published. Shriner, herself, was an oddity. Her YouTube channel has 20,000 followers. The 243 videos have a total of 3 million views. She’s hardly the level of cult leader as Jim Jones or Marshall Applewhite, but she’s a shady character.

First, there are her videos. They’re really audio recordings. Shriner used a high school photo for publicity. There are very few current images of her.

Second, her education is questionable. Articles claim she received three degrees from Kent State: Journalism, Political Science (has several tracks), and Criminal Justice (not the actual name of the degree). It is highly unlikely that Shriner received degrees in three distinct programs.

Third, is her supposed 32^nd rank of Freemasonry. The Freemason do not accept women. There is a branch in the United Kingdom that does; however, there are no lodges in the US.

Finally, there is her trademark for Orgone Blasters and Orgone rocks. For a hefty price, you can defend yourself against aliens by purchasing these items. Note that it’s a trademark and not a patent.

I said finally, but there is so much more. Her GoFundMe campaigns; the Twitter account; her supposed genealogy. You get the picture.

It’s interesting how a seemingly run-of-the-mill murder turned into a conspiracy theory fueled fight leading to a couple of suspicious deaths. Goes to show: The story is never what it seems.