On March 6, 1992, Rogowski is sentenced to a 31 year to life prison sentence. So, when I remembered a case that was not only local, but also involved murder and skateboarding, it was not difficult for me to choose the topic of my first true crime write up. Hes vague about his official role at the church, where, he says, he is a lay minister who runs a youth hotline, but he adds that officially he is a church custodian. Two members abstained from voting and the eight remaining executive committee members were not present at the meeting. Photo Source: Social Media. Essentially, I became a victim first, because I turned my back on God in several ways, thinking I could get through it on my own power. Slave, victim, but still expressing regret and without deferring the blame for my actions, Gator targeted three things that influenced his state of mind: Firstly, sex outside of marriage, i.e., promiscuity, premarital sex and cohabitation, the disease of jealousy, and the unhealthy obsession that so often attaches to these. There is a virtual catalogue of PRAISE REPORTS that I have to share with you because you and Victory Outreach made a big difference in my path back to the throne of GOD. Around 1am, he tells her that he will take her home. He skated alongside with names like Christian Hosoi and Tony Hawk. Markfurther explained that he was concerned that his neighbors would hear Jessica's screams. (For those of you who are not so into skateboarding, vert skating is skating that involves ramps and pools or some other similar incline.) I say that I had a girl; I once considered girls a possession. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. "It is one very small step, and so much more is needed, but I hope that this may be the start of a new era in how the EC relates to SBC clergy sex abuse survivors," Brown said in a statement. Auggie Constantino Surfer Bio | Age, Height, Videos & Results To skateboarders everywhere, he was a hero. In 1975 Pastor Augie and Mary, his girlfriend of three years, were invited to Victory Outreach where they encountered the Lord and . . We both sat and cried. I am attempting to reach Keith Fergueson and/or his wife Julie ( Keith was in the Ministry of Music). Everything that I hated about Brandi, I hated about Jessica, Gator would later tell the police. If you're driving from Vegas to Utah or Cali you can keep listening for 2 hours straight! Famous Skateboarder Mark Rogowski Murders a Friend There were no other witnesses to her disappearance. At the January 1992 hearing in which he entered his plea. He drove for two hours into the desert, pulled off the highway at a desolate place called Shell Canyon, and buried her naked body in a shallow grave. Brandi and Gator partied that entire weekend, which wasnt unusual considering the groupies who awaited, him in every town. Gator got his chops down at a local skateparks half-pipes, moguls, and pool in the shape of a bra dubbed the 42D Bowl. by top skaters, and they sold by the thousands. If I couldnt get into bars because we were under age and had fake IDs she would leave me outside for three hours waiting while she drank. In this episodeJen takes us back to the 80s when Skateboarding was all the rage. Jessica Bergsten. Jessicas body had been found in the desert by some campers on April 10, but the body was so badly decomposed that it could not be identified. The accident that ensued is a skateboarding legend a drunken Gator, partying with a bunch of other skaters, leapt out of a second-story window, convinced that he could fly. Another step forward came in 1994 when Pastor Augie became a U.S. Citizen. All rights reserved. I was getting ready for bed when I answered the door, recalls Constantino. In 1997 after a significant in house fundraising campaign entitled Home of our Own the Church purchased a home of their own in Eagle Rock, CA. He landed on an iron fence, impaling his neck and face and injuring his thumb. Southern Baptist Convention leaders decide to release long-secret list Mark Anthony Gator Rogowski was born on August 10, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. In what form? I dont want to mention family members, of course, because I want to protect them. Im not going to say who, but with people in my childhood. He is a child-murderer and child-rapist. Photo Source: Social Media. Nevertheless, campers found her dead body in the middle of a desert on 10th April 1991. But Brandi became bored with the ranch. Arquette's reply to a Twitter prompt about bad dates led to the internet finding out about her short-lived affair with Mark. Afterward, he handcuffed her and raped her while she was shackled to hisbed. He was mainly prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s. Mark Rogowski, popularly known as Gator, rose to prominence alongside many other skating pioneers due to his prolific skating tricks. It was the lead story in the local papers, local television ran nightly updates as the case unfolded, and on national TV, Hard Copy did a dramatic reenactment of the rape, murder, and subsequent confession. Let me just start by letting you all know that I have been a Reddit user for years, and I absolutely love it. Auggie Costantino (@auggiecostantino) Instagram photos and videos Crude videos were slapped together featuring the latest moves. Rogowski was charged with special circumstances because, under California law, committing murder during rape warrants the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of 2021, the former American skateboard champion is incarcerated at Donovan State Prison. That was just Gator., But Brandi would have none of it. Gator was still trying to milk vert skating for all he could. He is evil incarnate. Gator, along with many others in the courtroom, cried as Bergsten continued in an angry 20-minute monologue. Now, when you no longer plunge with them into all this reckless dissipation, they cannot understand it. He shuts the Bible with a thump. The ex-skateboarding champion was born Mark Anthony Rogowski on 10th August of 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. Many believe that Rogowski also looked at Augie as a kind of father figure in a literal and a religious way, as if he were a God himself, in a way. Witt Rowlett, owner of Witts Carlsbad Pipelines, the premier surf shop in Carlsbad, says that everyone was amazed. Id float away and my carcass would get buried.. He looked the same, but he sounded completely different. Then, you lived in licence and debauchery, drunkenness, revelry, and tippling, and the forbidden worship of idols. As per the former skate champion, he snuck up on Jessica before hitting her head with a metal club and making her semi-conscious. As perPatricia, the pairmet through a mutual friend. He was driving out in the middle of this nowhere road out where my parents live when he turned to me with this really scary, serious look in his eye. It was a full soul session, everybody was just shralpin it up. Uncuffed, standing under the hot desert sun, Gator watched as they dug around for more evidence, photographed the site, and talked to the local police. Augie became Mark's spiritual advisor, and Mark converted to a strict Evangelical form of Christianity. Mark never had a father to speak of. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Gator who emerged from the hospital shocked his friends and admirers. He led them to Jessicas body that same day. Gods richest blessings to you and your children, Consequently, she broke up with him and moved back to her parents' house. As she was getting ready to leave, Gator went to his car, ostensibly to see if his drivers license was there. Mark Anthony "Gator" Rogowski (born August 10, 1966) [3] is an American former professional skateboarder who was convicted of murder. If you believe that it was a revenge killing and that it was prompted by Brandi, I would say yes, he replies, and suddenly youre listening to a dramatically different Gator than the one at whose sentencing a Catholic priest testified, Never before have I encountered a person so clearly open about his responsibility. Youre listening to a man skating away from the idea that the murder was really his fault. In 1987, the former pro skaterwas introduced to Brandi McClain and her friend Jessica Bergstenwhile performing at a skate show in Scottsdale, Arizona. He says hes undergone a religious conversion. If he was a celebrity in Southern California, in Carlsbad, the unofficial skateboarding capital of the world, he was a megastar. He drove her body out to the desert and buried it in a shallow grave. At the age of 3, his parents divorced, and he ended up across the country in Escondido, California. Next to the beach, with a pizza shop next door, the convenience store is a favorite hangout for young Carlsbad surfers and skateboarders. There were no witnesses, no one heard her screams, and the murder weapon was never found. About a week later he came to me and said, Remember that girl in the poster? Augie Constantino Profiles | Facebook On top of his other surgeries, he also had plastic surgery to try and salvage his looks for any future ad possibilities. Executive committee staff have already decided to publish the list and will not need members' approval. Street skating is a form of skating that does not require ramps, but simply skating the streets and using what you have around you to perform tricks. The next morning Gator led detectives to where hed buried the body. Yet something drove Gator to confess his crime. Around this time, Gator and Brandi started a long-distance courtship, given that he was only in Arizona for the competition. Gator, Gator, Gator every issue of Thrasher had Gator doing something, says Perry Gladstone, who owns FL (formerly Fishlips), a skateboarding company near San Diego. Then, in October 1989, after a competition in West Germany, the party animal in Gator reared up and bit him. Although Gator himself doesnt remember what happened, some of his friends say that he was actually trying to sneak back into his hotel after hours by crawling up a terrace. Mark "Gator" Rogowski: Pro Skater and Murderer : r/TrueCrime - Reddit It was in 1987, in Scottsdale, Arizona, where during a skate convention, Rogowski meets 2 betties: Brandi McClain and Jessica Bergsten. So of course that appealed to Mark. It was around this time that Gator started calling himself Mark Anthony instead of Mark Anthony Rogowski, because, as he later said, I didnt want to be associated with my father at all., When Gators wounds healed, he joined Constantino. TWO FEMALE TRUE CRIME ENTHUSIASTS DISCUSS THIS DARK REALITY WITH THEIR OWN UNIQUE TWIST. Bergstens efforts were to no avail. His voice got all deep and, you know, he sounded like the devil. Former American skateboarder Mark's success in the mainstream at such a young age also attracted many girls. Afterward, Mark made significant changes in his lifestyle and often carried a Bible in tournaments and events. He made me a good baseball player and an athlete in general. As of 2021, the former American skateboard champion is incarcerated at Donovan State Prison. Under the guidance of their Pastor, Sonny Arguinzoni, they began preparing to pastor a church of their own. I am still here, still loving God and raising my family in Arizona. The American skater had it all; a successful career, a sizable fortune, and a beautiful blonde girlfriend. Brandi McClain. She could have been involved in drugs, pornography. Jen takes us back to the 80's when Skateboarding was all the rage. A skateboarder and former professional surfer who lived just two blocks from Gator and Brandi, Constantino had suffered an accident similar to Gators four years earlier. California state law does not allow video interviews with inmates, therefore Rogowski had to be interviewed over the phone for the documentary. I wouldnt have submitted if I didnt have some weakness, some background desire. As he drove back to Carlsbad, he tossed her bloodstained-clothes, his sheets, and the Club out the window. Dont miss out. He survived and was patched up in Germany, but upon returning home he spent months in San Diego with plastic surgeons trying to save his modeling career. There. Its likely the skateboarding world will be placed under a microscope in the media, warned Thrasher. At the very top of that hill, four and a half miles up from the jail, was the rundown skateboard park where Gator had his last ride, MacGills Skatepark. He received 6 years for rape and 25 years to life for the first-degree charges. She fell to the floor, blood gushing from her head, so much so that it soaked right through the carpet. After only another 2 years of continuing to skate for his team locally, he turned professional in 1980 at the age of 14. Consejo Educational Foundation since 2012, served on the court of Rey Feo 65, Larry Benson Sr., and served as the prime minister to Rey Feo 69, Fred Reyes. In 1982, he won his first big contest in the Canadian Amateur Skating Championships, and his second notable contest in 1984. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. While recovering from his injuries, he met a man named Augie Constantino. Gator takes a deep breath, sighs, then continues. President Mnangagwa was met by the Vice President, General (Retired) Dr Constantino Chiwenga, ZANU PF Second Secretary and Vice President, Cde Kembo Mohadi, the Bulawayo Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Cde Judith Ncube, senior government and party officials.