Cortland Rogers, Shawna Smith Sentenced In PA Murders

Authorities said on Wednesday, July 30, that a Pennsylvania couple who committed a crime spree in 2022 that resulted in the deaths of two people and the violent terrorization of two more would be imprisoned for decades.

Judy Hunter (bottom right) and Kevin Williford (top left), who were abducted and murdered by Cortland Roger (bottom left 2022, and top right 2025).

Smith, Shawna

Gavel.

According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, Cortland Rogers, 31, entered a guilty plea earlier this year to two charges of first-degree murder for the execution-style killings of Judy Hunter and Kevin Williford in Waynesburg on February 1, 2022. In February, he was given two mandatory life sentences and a concurrent 15–60 year sentence by a Greene County judge for the kidnapping and assault of two more victims.

Shawna Smith, 26, of Waynesburg, has already entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy, aggravated assault, and kidnapping related to an event that occurred at a Waynesburg residence on February 14, 2022. She also acknowledged that she had obstructed Rogers’ double murder by hiding shot casings and interfering with the evidence, Sunday said.

Smith will spend 10 to 20 years in state prison as part of a plea deal.

According to authorities, Rogers shot both Williford and Hunter to silence witnesses after he and Smith broke into their house and demanded money. Two weeks later, on the same day that Rogers and Smith enticed a man and woman to another house, held them hostage at gunpoint for hours, and viciously attacked the female victim by kicking, punching, and stomping her, their remains were discovered.

The inquiry was headed by the Waynesburg Borough Police Department. The cases were prosecuted by Alicia S. Werner and Kara M. Rice, Senior Deputy Attorneys General.