On a tragic autumn morning in 2022, the life of 23-year-old Zaria Rashun McKeever was violently cut short. In the early hours of November 8th, McKeever was in her Brooklyn Park, Minnesota apartment with her new boyfriend when intruders broke in. The peaceful morning was shattered by the sound of a door being kicked in, followed by a barrage of gunshots.
McKeever was struck multiple times and succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation swiftly revealed a sinister plot orchestrated by McKeever's ex-boyfriend, Erick Dewaun Haynes, who was also the father of her young daughter. Fueled by jealousy and anger over their recent breakup and McKeever's new relationship, Haynes had meticulously planned the attack. He enlisted two teenage brothers, 15-year-old Foday Kevin Kamara and his 17-year-old older brother, to carry out his vengeful plan. Haynes provided the teens with a gun he had purchased and instructed them to go to McKeever's apartment to kill her new boyfriend. He allegedly told them to also kill McKeever if she got in their way. While the teens stormed the apartment, Haynes waited in a vehicle outside.
Inside the apartment, the situation escalated quickly. McKeever’s new boyfriend managed to escape through a window just before the shots were fired. When confronted by the armed teenagers, McKeever was shot five times, including once at point-blank range to her head. After the brutal shooting, the two brothers fled the scene in the car driven by Haynes. The investigation led to the arrest of not only Haynes and the two teenage shooters but also others who assisted in the aftermath. Erick Haynes' sister, Eriana Haynes, and Tavion James were charged with aiding an offender after the fact for their roles in attempting to cover up the crime.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, all individuals charged in connection with Zaria McKeever's murder pleaded guilty. Erick Haynes pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Foday Kevin Kamara, the younger of the two brothers who fired the fatal shots, was tried as an adult and pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder. He was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. His older brother also accepted a plea deal. Eriana Haynes and Tavion James both pleaded guilty to aiding an offender after the fact and received sentences for their involvement. The mother of Erick and Eriana Haynes, Valesha Parker, was later charged as an accomplice for her alleged role in helping to conceal the crime.
