Brooklyn Park Murder Case Closes: Mom Valesha Parker Jailed for Sheltering Son

Valesha Parker, mother of Erick Haynes, received 364 days in jail and a stayed 50-month prison sentence Friday in Hennepin County District Court, marking the end of prosecutions in the November 8, 2022, slaying of 23-year-old Zaria McKeever.[1][2][3] Parker had pleaded guilty March 25, 2026, to one count of aiding an offender after the fact, down from four felony counts filed in 2024.[1][2] She admitted lying to investigators and sheltering her son at an Extended Stay Hotel in nearby Brooklyn Center, where police later recovered the murder weapon.[2][5] Haynes, McKeever's ex-partner and father of their 1.5-year-old daughter, orchestrated the attack after weeks of harassing McKeever over her new boyfriend.[1][3][5] He armed two juveniles, including 15-year-old Foday Kamara, and drove the getaway car after they kicked in McKeever's apartment door in the 5400 block of 79th Avenue North.[1][2][5] The teens shot McKeever five to nine times, including point-blank to the head; her boyfriend escaped by jumping from a window.[1][2][5] Haynes drew life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.[2][3] Kamara pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and got over 10 years.[2] Haynes' sister Eriana Haynes received 41 months for aiding an offender, while her partner Tavion James got 364 days with a stayed 42-month sentence.[2][3] One teen accidentally shot his brother in the foot during the chaos.[5] Kamara later told police Parker was present when he admitted the shooting and overheard plans to hide the gun.[2][5] Attorney General Keith Ellison hailed the sentencings as justice for McKeever, a Brooklyn Park resident whose death stunned the north Twin Cities suburb.[1] The case underscores rising gun violence in Hennepin County, where homicides spiked in 2022 amid post-pandemic trends.[1]