By: Melina Matthes
mmatthes@klkntv.com
You probably remember the story of Charlie Rogers, a former Husker Basketball player. She said she was beaten and tormented by three men in her house. But after nearly a month of investigating, Lincoln Police say it was all a hoax.
The night Charlie Rogers said this all happened, she ran to a neighbors house for help. That neighbor is the one who called 911. She was very close to Rogers and is shaken by the thought that the whole thing may have been made up. In fact she's so stunned and hurt that she wouldn't appear on camera.
Shock and disbelief. Words of anger and betrayal fill Facebook. All centered around Charlie Rogers. The woman who police say lied about a hate crime. Neighbors are in disgust.
"I'm just dumbfounded, I'm sick to my stomach. I just can't believe it. I just can't believe it. It shocks me," neighbor Linda Rappl said.
Linda Rappl is the neighbor who Rogers ran to for help the night of the alleged incident. She feels as though she was taken advantage of. She says her husband, Henry, was extremely ill and near death and Rogers knew it. She says for Rogers to pull a prank on her during the couples last few days together, is unbelievable.
"If this is a hoax, yes I am very angry at her because I was bringing my husband home to die and he came home on...this happened on Sunday morning. He came home Monday and died on Tuesday and I'm just devastated that she would do this to me at a time like that," Rappl said.
Rappl says she's very hurt but when asked if she could ever find it in her heart to forgive Rogers, she said she would, but it could take a while.
"I still know what I saw, I still thought it was true. I had no reason to doubt her and so it really shakes my faith in humanity if something like this is really a hoax. It really shakes me," Rappl said.
Rappl told us she believed Rogers, and would've stood by her side until the end.
