The last of five adults charged in connection with the November 2022 murder of Zaria McKeever was sentenced to one year in prison with a stayed 50-month prison sentence after admitting she lied to law enforcement and helped her son following the killing.
The sentencing, handed down by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, completes the final prosecution tied to McKeever's death.
McKeever, 23, was shot and killed in a Brooklyn Park home on Nov. 8, 2022. Erick Haynes, her former partner and the father of her then-1-and-a-half-year-old daughter, sent two juveniles — including Foday Kamara — into an apartment with guns to kill McKeever's new boyfriend. The juveniles shot McKeever five times, including at point-blank range to her head. Haynes drove the getaway vehicle.
Valesha Parker pleaded guilty on March 25, to one count of aiding an offender after the fact. She had originally been charged in 2024 with four felony counts of aiding an offender.
According to charges, Parker was living at an Extended Stay Hotel in Brooklyn Center, where police later found the murder weapon. Kamara told investigators that Parker was present when two other adults let him into the hotel room. Kamara said he told Parker he had shot McKeever and that Parker overheard a conversation with Haynes about hiding the murder weapon.
The 50-month prison sentence will remain stayed for five years, provided Parker meets the terms of her plea agreement.
Parker is the last of five adult defendants to be sentenced in the case. Haynes received a life sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Kamara was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder. Eriana Haynes received 41 months in prison after pleading guilty to aiding an offender. Tavion James was sentenced to 364 days in jail with a stayed 42-month prison sentence after also pleading guilty to aiding an offender.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the final sentencing was the result of sustained work by his office and law enforcement partners.
"Nothing and no one can return Zaria McKeever to her family, her young daughter, and our community," Ellison said. "I think about her and her loved ones often and I hope this final sentencing provides them and the whole community with a sense of accountability."
Ellison also credited McKeever's family for their involvement throughout the prosecution.
"I want to thank the family for their partnership in holding accountable the people responsible for Zaria's murder, and I want to thank the entire team in my office who diligently pursued justice for her," he said. "We all continue to feel the loss of Zaria and will always remember her."
The Brooklyn Park Police Department led the investigation. The Minneapolis Police Department assisted in the immediate aftermath of the killing.
Kamara was originally offered a plea deal by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who wanted him and his brother to undergo rehabilitation instead of serving time in prison. McKeever's family was outraged and successfully lobbied Gov. Tim Walz to intervene and reroute the case to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison without Moriarty's approval — a move that hadn't occurred in the state for nearly three decades. Moriarty called Walz's decision "undemocratic."
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New charges filed in murder of Zaria McKeever
New charges filed in murder of Zaria McKeever
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