Woman dies after St. Petersburg man attacks her with hatchet, deputies say

A woman who was struck in the head with a hatchet last week has died and the man accused of hitting her now faces a murder charge, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies said.

Lisa Ann Rogers, 56, was pronounced dead Saturday at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, according to deputies. Michael Dougherty, 40, who was previously arrested on an attempted second-degree murder charge, now faces a charge of second-degree murder, deputies said.

Deputies responded about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to a home in the 4000 block of 24th Street N and found Rogers with a hatchet protruding from her head. Detectives later identified Dougherty, who had been living in the home with Rogers and left before deputies arrived, as a suspect. He was pulled over Thursday by a deputy in Alachua County, arrested and taken to jail there.