Patricia Arquette joined in on a popular Twitter prompt about bad dates on Wednesday, only to reveal that her date became an infamous murderer years later.
The 53-year-old actress initially shared what sounded like a run-of-the-mill bad date with a ‘pro skateboarder’ who turned out to be a bad kisser.
But she later revealed that her disastrous second date was with former professional skateboarder Mark ‘Gator’ Rogowski, who would later confess to brutally raping and murdering his acquaintance Jessica Bergsten in 1991 when she was only 22 years old.
Chilling: Patricia Arquette, 53, revealed Wednesday on Twitter that she once dated the professional skateboarder Mark Rogowski, 54, who would later be convicted of rape and murder; Arquette seen in January 2020
Patricia shared her horrifying date in response to the prompt: ‘What’s the most awkward date y’all ever been on?’
She specified that it was a ‘second date,’ writing, ‘Pro skateboarder. Really cute. Friends with my friends.
‘We made out but something about how he kissed me freaked me out,’ she continued, adding that she ‘gave him a fake number’ at the conclusion of the date.
‘Years later he killed his girlfriend,’ she concluded starkly.
Behind bars: Rogowski pleaded guilty to raping and murdering 22-year-old Jessica Bergsten in 1991. She was a close friend of his ex Brandi McClain
Making a run for it: Arquette said it was his aggressive kissing that ‘freaked’ her out, and she gave him a fake number to get out of a third date
Be safe: She urged fans to ‘trust your instincts’ when they had a bad feeling about someone
‘Moral to the story — Trust your instincts,’ she wrote in a follow-up tweet, before adding, ‘And my daughter thinks I’m overprotective.’
Naturally, other users were fascinated by her eerie story and pressed her for more details, with one person guessing that she was referring to Rogowski.
‘Yes right,’ replied Arquette. ‘He raped and killed. His girl friend who was best friends with his x girlfriend.’
One user suggested that the influence of religion on Rogowski had led to his confession.
‘I think without religion it never would have been solved. He told his priest,’ the actress replied, though Rogowski’s eventual confession was instead to a born-again Christian friend.
Years later: She later joked that her daughter ‘thinks i’m overprotective’; seen in Time Out in 1987
Giving himself up: The actress referenced Rogowski’s eventual confession to a born-again Christian friend
Taking a stand: She recalled fighting back at another date who bit her while kissing too hard
Another person mentioned having a similarly bad experience with a scarily aggressive kisser.
Arquette wrote back: ‘Another guy was like that one other time he bot [sic] me hard while kissing and I started choking him and told him don’t ever f***ing do that to a woman again.’
The same person then queried her about how Rogowski kissed her before scaring her away, which she described as ‘aggressive.’
‘Like pushing me back hard with his jaw and it felt like it was angry,’ she clarified.
Creepy: She said Rogowski scared her away with his ‘aggressive’ kissing. ‘Like pushing me back hard with his jaw and it felt like it was angry
Downhill: Rogowski was a popular skateboard throughout the 1980s, but his career suffered as the 1990s rolled along due to his worsening addiction to alcohol and the sport’s diminishing commercial prospects; still from Mark Rogowski: The Rise And Fall Of Gator
Rogowski is currently in prison on a 31-year to life sentence for raping and murdering Jessica Bergsten in 1991.
Bergsten was a good friend of his ex Brandi McClain, though the two aren’t thought to have been in a relationship, contrary to what Arquette said.
Rogowski was a popular skateboarder throughout the 1980s, but his career suffered as the 1990s rolled along due to his worsening addiction to alcohol and the sport’s diminishing commercial prospects.
After the athlete ended his relationship with McClain — whom he had subjected to domestic violence throughout their relationship — he began to threaten her and her boyfriend and even broke into her home when she was out.
In 1991, McClain’s friend Bergsten asked Rogowski to give her a tour of San Diego, after which she was reported missing.
Horrific: In 1991, he took his ex Brandi McClain’s friend Jessica Bergsten on a tour of San Diego, before bashing her over the head at his apartment, brutally raping her and killing her; still from Mark Rogowski: The Rise And Fall Of Gator
The skater later confessed that he hit Bergsten in the back of the head with a metal car steering wheel lock and tied her to his bed before raping her.
He said he covered her mouth out of fear that the neighbors would hear her until she stopped breathing.
Afterward, he buried her body in the desert, where it was discovered in an advanced state of decay that initially made it impossible to identify.
Rogowski then confessed his crime to a born-again Christian friend, who urged him to confess to the police, which he did.
The convicted murderer initially faced the death penalty on a charge of murdering Bergsten while raping her, though he was eventually convicted of separate murder and rape charges.
He was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole after 31 years.
In 2019, the parole board reportedly recommended that Rogowski be paroled, but California Governor Gavin Newsom overruled the decision.
He will next be eligible for parole in 2023.
Confessing: Rogowski’s religious friend convinced him to confess to the police. He was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison and is next eligible for parole in 2023 after previously being denied; still from Mark Rogowski: The Rise And Fall Of Gator