Ashantai Nicole Finch, 32, a Black/African American woman, was living with her sister and brother-in-law in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, when a turbulent relationship with her boyfriend, 19-year-old Dymond Rene Hayden, turned deadly on the night of April 10, 2012. She had been trying to end the relationship, and an argument in the home's basement escalated; a shotgun blast to her chest ended her life as family members were upstairs.
Hayden ran to them saying to call 911 and initially claimed the gun went off while they were “playing” with it, but investigators quickly challenged that account. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified Finch, and local reporting placed the domestic shooting at a residence in the 8100 block of Hampshire Court North.
Police arrested Hayden at the scene. Prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder and prohibited firearm possession; an autopsy confirmed Finch died of a single gunshot wound close to 11:30 p.m. He later entered a guilty plea to third-degree murder, with charging documents and coverage describing a contentious relationship and Hayden's shifting explanations about the weapon.
At sentencing in February 2013, Hayden apologized to Finch's family while continuing to describe the shooting as accidental. He received a 15-year prison sentence in Hennepin County District Court; state records reflect his conviction and subsequent supervision in Minnesota's corrections system.
