Alexander Lee Rogers: Stabbing, LA Arrest, and Guilty Plea

Alexander Lee Rogers is a 51-year-old Washington man who, on August 5, 2025, fatally stabbed 64-year-old Dawn Peters and critically wounded her 73-year-old brother-in-law Andrew Peters inside their Longview home. After a week-long multi-state manhunt that ended with his arrest in Los Angeles, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder and was sentenced on December 4, 2025, to 503.25 months, roughly 41 years and 11 months, in prison.¹

What Happened at the Peters Home

The attack occurred just before noon on August 5, 2025, in the 100 block of Terumi Lane in Longview, a small city in Cowlitz County. Rogers had done occasional handyman work for the family. According to Andrew Peters’ account, Rogers attacked after being refused money, stabbing both victims in the neck.²

Dawn Peters was killed. Andrew Peters, despite a large neck laceration, managed to activate a panic alert button, which caused Rogers to flee. Andrew was airlifted to a hospital by helicopter and later recovered at home.¹³

A Violent Criminal History the Family Did Not Know About

Rogers had been released from prison earlier in 2025, less than a year before the Longview stabbing.⁴ He had served more than 20 years for a first-degree assault conviction tied to a machete attack in the early 2000s that injured two people.⁵ The initial charges filed against him in Cowlitz County also included a count of failure to register as a sex offender, later dismissed as part of his plea agreement.⁶

Jill Nunes, a relative of the victims, said the family had not known about his record when they hired him. “He obviously had been locked up for 20 years, so they really didn’t know him,” she told reporters. “Somebody, I think, said, ‘Oh, this guy’s looking for work.'” She added that if the family had known, “he wouldn’t have been in their house.”³

The Manhunt and Arrest in Los Angeles

Rogers fled Longview in a partially spray-painted black BMW and drove south toward California. Authorities labeled him armed and dangerous and coordinated a search involving the Longview Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department.⁷⁸

On Monday, August 11, sheriff’s deputies found the abandoned BMW near a hiking trail in the 23000 block of Calabasas Road in Calabasas, California.⁹¹⁰¹¹

Charges, Guilty Plea, and Sentence

Rogers was extradited to Washington and arraigned on September 9, 2025, in Cowlitz County Superior Court, where he initially pleaded not guilty and was held without bail. The charging documents listed four counts: first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder, both with deadly weapon enhancements, along with felony harassment for threatening Andrew Peters and failure to register as a sex offender.⁶

On December 4, 2025, Rogers changed his plea. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for killing Dawn Peters and to second-degree attempted murder for the attack on Andrew Peters. The attempted murder count was reduced from first degree, and the harassment and sex-offender registration counts were dismissed under the plea agreement.²

He was sentenced the same day to 503.25 months, approximately 41 years and 11 months.¹ At 51, he will almost certainly spend the rest of his life in prison.

Who Dawn Peters Was

Dawn Rene Peters, born May 11, 1961, was 64 when she was killed.¹² Over her career she worked as a caregiver and certified nursing assistant, as a postal worker, and as a processor of workers’ compensation claims at the State Capitol in Olympia. She was a breast cancer survivor known in her community for putting together pantry baskets from her own kitchen for people in need. Family members described her at sentencing as “unselfish.”¹

Her husband, Duane Peters, said after the attack: “She was my whole life. I mean, she would do so much for me. I miss her dearly, and it’s just so hard.” Her nephew, Steven Butler, said she “would help anybody, whether it be the shirt off her back, the last five bucks in her pocket, anything that you needed, she would have gave.”¹³

1
Cowlitz County. Alexander Rogers Sentenced for Murder and Attempted Murder
2
The Chronicle. Man Accused of Murdering Woman, Beating Elderly Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Cowlitz County
3
KGW. Longview Homicide Suspect Alexander Lee Rogers Arrested in Los Angeles
4
CBS News. Washington State Murder Suspect Arrested Southern California LAPD
5
People. Alexander Lee Rogers Machete Attack Allegedly Stabbed Woman Handyman
6
The Reflector. Victim: Cowlitz County Murder Suspect Attacked When Denied Money
7
Seattle Times. Hunt for WA Murder Suspect Moves to Southern California After Car Is Found
8
KATU. Police Search for Longview Washington Murder Suspect Alexander Lee Rogers
9
ABC7. Washington Murder Suspect Alexander Rogers Arrested in Westlake District
10
Fox LA. Alexander Lee Rogers Washington Murder Suspect Car Found in Calabasas
11
KATU. Los Angeles Tip Led to Arrest of Armed and Dangerous Longview Murder Suspect
12
Longview Memorial Park. Dawn Peters Obituary
13
KPTV. Longview Victim Says It Was Fight to Survive Deadly Stabbing