Tampow Pleads Not Guilty

61-year old Mark Tampow of Lebanon appeared in court yesterday in Laclede County and waived his formal arraignment, and entered a plea of not guilty in the murder of 53-year old Brenda Rogers of Lebanon. Police were called to a home in the 500 block of Polk Street on August 13th for reports of shots being fired in the home. When they arrived, they found Rogers deceased inside the house.

Tampow was in a relationship with Rogers, and the two had been living together before her death. Court documents state Tampow initially told officers he was cleaning his gun and dropped it, causing it to fire and strike Rogers. But investigators say Tampow’s story didn’t match up with evidence at the scene.

After continued questioning, Tampow told officers he was mad at Rogers because he’d found a meth pipe. He says he broke the pipe, threw it away, and the pair began arguing. That’s when Tampow says he pointed the gun at Rogers. Officers later found the pipe in the trash, corroborating Tampow’s statements.