Do you know who murdered Baby Keyenejad? On a tragic Valentine's Day in 1996, a sense of hopeful anticipation turned to heartbreak inside an east Las Vegas 7-Eleven. Sara Keyenejad, a 19-year-old White female who was six months pregnant, was waiting for her husband's shift to end. The young couple had recently moved to Las Vegas from Southern California and were excitedly awaiting the birth of their son, who they planned to name Tyler Matthew.
Sara was sitting at a slot machine inside the convenience store on Bonanza Road when two men, disguised in women's clothing, entered with the intent to rob the establishment.
The assailants were armed, one with a long gun and the other with a handgun. As the man with the long gun entered the store, he turned without warning and fired a single shot at Sara. The bullet struck her in the chest and abdomen, tragically taking her life and that of her unborn child. The robbers fled with a mere $50. Sara and her son, Tyler Matthew, were later buried together in the same casket in Big Bear City, California.
For more than two decades, the case remained cold, a painful and unresolved chapter for Sara's grieving family. However, in August 2020, a breakthrough led to the arrests of two men, Anthony Williams and Kareem Brock. They were charged with murder, robbery, and burglary in connection with Sara's death. An ex-girlfriend of Williams had identified both men to the police back in December 1996 after recognizing them in news footage of the crime. She informed authorities that the two had initially planned to rob drug dealers, but when they couldn't find any, they targeted the 7-Eleven instead. She also stated that Brock allegedly shot Sara because he believed she was trying to see his face.
The legal proceedings that followed brought further twists to the long-unresolved case. In October 2020, all charges against Anthony Williams were dismissed. Kareem Brock's case was bound over to District Court on a single count of open murder, with the other charges being dismissed. This outcome left Sara's family with a mix of emotions, still grappling with the profound loss of a young mother-to-be and the future that was stolen from them.
