Twisted Old Fruit

(NEWSER) – In a disturbing—not to mention extremely complicated—story, a Baton Rouge, La., talk show host was allegedly shot and killed by his son-in-law, who was also thought to be his lover, according to police.

The son-in-law, Matthew Hodgkinson, survived what Sheriff Brett Stassi says was likely a murder-suicide attempt Wednesday. He’s now in critical condition in the hospital, the Times-Picayune reports.

To make things more confusing, the murder occurred while the local TV host, Scott Rogers, 52, was facing an investigation over whether he was the person he claimed to be. The state recently took two children away from Rogers: One was an adopted son and the other was in the process of being adopted. It’s not clear why they were taken, but Stassi says Rogers “used his fake name to get the adoption.”

Rogers is originally from the UK, where he ran a dance studio; Hodgkinson was a student there. County officials suggested the place was cultlike and dangerous for kids, the Bury Free Press notes. Rogers was cleared of child molestation charges in the early 1990s. Though Hodgkinson is married to Rogers’ daughter, Stassi says the connection was simply a means of getting Hodgkinson US citizenship.

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