BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — Three people charged in the murder of Zaria McKeever are set to go on trial Monday morning.
McKeever, 23, was found dead from gunshot wounds in her Brooklyn Park apartment back in November 2022.
Prosecutors have since charged her ex-boyfriend Erick Haynes. McKeever was the mother of his 1-year-old child, and he was upset that their relationship had ended, charging documents said.
Erick Haynes is accused of bringing a gun to McKeever’s apartment on Nov. 8 and ordering two teenage brothers to kill her new boyfriend, as well as McKeever herself if she got in the way. The teens kicked in the apartment door, and while McKeever’s new boyfriend jumped out the window, she was shot dead, charging documents state. One of the minors was shot in the foot during the killing.
Two other adults — 24-year-old Eriana Haynes and 24-year-old Tavion James — are charged with helping after the homicide, including bringing one of the boys to the hospital for a gunshot wound.
The two minors charged in the case, including 17-year-old Foday Kamara, have taken plea deals outside of court.
McKeever’s family argued that the original plea deal, which had Kamara and his brother serving two years at a Red Wing juvenile program, did not amount to justice served for McKeever. They expressed their dissatisfaction with Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s decision not to charge the teens as adults, which led Gov. Tim Walz to assign Attorney General Keith Ellison to take over the case.
It marked the first time in 30 years that the Minnesota AG’s office took over a criminal case without the green light from the county attorney. Moriarty called the takeover “undemocratic.”
The jury trial for the three adults charged begins at 9 a.m. If they are convicted, they could each face 40 years in prison.
Kamara is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
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- Fatal Shooting
- Brooklyn Park News