In the quiet hours of a Shreveport, Louisiana night on July 30, 2011, the life of 25-year-old Roshenna Bantina Crowder, an African American woman, was tragically cut short in an act of brutal violence. What began as a peaceful evening at her home in the 6100 block of Fairfield Avenue, shared with her boyfriend Donald Brown, descended into terror when at least three armed men forced their way inside.
The intruders launched a violent home invasion and robbery, forever altering the lives of those within.
Roshenna sought refuge in a bedroom closet, a desperate attempt to hide from the unfolding horror. It was there, in that small space, that she was shot and killed. Her boyfriend, Donald Brown, was also shot multiple times but managed to survive the vicious attack. Present in the home during this traumatic event were Roshenna's two young children, aged 4 and 8. In a display of remarkable bravery, the children fled to their grandmother's house to report the horrific event that had claimed their mother's life. They informed the police that several men had knocked on their door before forcing entry with a gun and fatally shooting their mother.
The initial investigation led to the arrest of two men, Barnell Johnson and Shawnee Bernard, based on information from jailhouse informants and an initial identification by the hospitalized and barely conscious Donald Brown. However, the lead detective remained unconvinced as the suspects knew no details of the crime, and Brown later recanted his identification. The case took a pivotal turn in late 2011 when a new witness came forward. An informant, whose mother was dating a man named Demario Little, told police his brother had confessed to being involved in the murder and identified Little as the shooter. This new information led investigators to Kenneth and Tracy Moore, who admitted their participation in the robbery and definitively named Demario Little as the man who shot and killed Roshenna Crowder.
Based on this new evidence, the charges against Johnson and Bernard were dropped, and an arrest warrant was issued for Demario Little, who was taken into custody in December 2011. On January 19, 2012, a grand jury indicted Little for the second-degree murder of Roshenna Crowder. His trial concluded on April 25, 2014, with a jury finding him guilty as charged. Demario Little received a mandatory life sentence for his role in the senseless murder that ended a young mother's life and irrevocably changed the course of her children's. His subsequent appeals, arguing insufficiency of evidence, have been denied, and his conviction and sentence have been affirmed.
