On a tragic summer evening in Brookhaven, Mississippi, the life of 30-year-old Ladarius Rockingham was cut short. On July 1, 2023, gunfire erupted at a residence on South Railroad Avenue, leading to the deaths of Rockingham and his 28-year-old sister, Shanecia Ferdinand. The profound loss was compounded by the fact that Ferdinand was pregnant at the time, and her unborn child also did not survive the attack.
The incident was described by the Brookhaven Police Chief as stemming from 'some type of domestic situation.'
In the immediate aftermath, law enforcement identified a suspect, Kelvin White, who was 21 years old at the time of the incident, which tragically occurred on his birthday. White fled the scene but was apprehended a short time later in the county with the assistance of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. He was subsequently arrested and faced serious charges for the triple homicide. This devastating event marked the third major loss for the Ferdinand family in 2023, as an uncle had died in an apartment fire on the same city block earlier in the year.
Kelvin White was initially charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of first-degree murder. He was ordered to be held in the Lincoln County Jail without bond following his initial court appearance on July 3, 2023. However, during a subsequent court appearance on July 12, the charges against him were changed to three counts of first-degree murder. Following this change, his bond was set at $500,000 for each count. The case was then bound over to the Grand Jury for further legal proceedings.
