In the winter of 2021, the life of 33-year-old Breonna Rogers was tragically cut short in Baltimore, Maryland. On the evening of January 19th, a motorist driving through Druid Hill Park made a grim discovery on Swann Drive: a woman, later identified as Rogers, wrapped in a blanket on the ground with blood on her hands. Medics were called to the scene, but it was too late; Rogers was pronounced dead from an apparent gunshot wound to her upper body.
The investigation into her death quickly led police to her boyfriend, Major Kinchen, with whom she lived in an apartment on Liberty Heights Avenue. Detectives discovered suspected blood droplets outside the lobby of their apartment building. Inside the apartment, they found Kinchen, along with a. 40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and Rogers' car keys. Video footage from various locations would later allegedly show Kinchen leaving the apartment complex with Rogers in her car before her death and returning alone. Investigators determined that her vehicle was the primary scene of the homicide.
Major Kinchen, who was 30 years old at the time, was taken into custody. He was subsequently indicted by a Baltimore City Grand Jury on charges of first-degree murder and weapons offenses. At his trial, prosecutors presented circumstantial evidence linking Kinchen to the crime. This included the discovery of the murder weapon with his DNA on it in their shared home, as well as jeans covered in both his and Rogers' blood. The prosecution also highlighted Kinchen's behavior when questioned by police, noting that instead of asking about his girlfriend's well-being, he repeatedly asked, 'Did you find her?'.
In May 2023, a jury found Major Kinchen guilty of second-degree murder and two weapons charges in the death of Breonna Rogers. The following month, a judge sentenced him to a total of 75 years in prison. The sentences for second-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and firearm possession with a felony conviction were all set to run consecutively. During the sentencing, the judge remarked on Kinchen's 'complete disregard for this woman's life'. Rogers' family, who were present in the courtroom, expressed their profound grief, with her father testifying that 'No parent should go through that'. Her grandfather remembered her as being 'so full of light'.
