Brookhaven, MS — A Lincoln County grand jury has declined to indict Kevin White, the man accused of fatally shooting Shanecia Ferdinand, her unborn child, and her brother, Ladarius Rockingham. The decision has left the victims’ family and friends devastated and demanding answers.
The incident reportedly began with an argument between White and Ferdinand, according to family members. Ferdinand and Rockingham’s father told 3 On Your Side that his daughter had been trying to move her belongings out of the apartment she shared with White when the situation escalated.
“She was trying to remove her stuff from my home because they shared the apartment they were living in, and he grabbed her earlier and threw her off the porch, and that’s when she called her brother to help her,” the father recounted.
When Rockingham arrived to assist his sister, an altercation broke out between him and White. During the confrontation, both Ferdinand and Rockingham were shot and killed. White was subsequently arrested, but following the grand jury’s decision, he is now a free man.
The family has expressed deep frustration with how the Brookhaven Police Department and the district attorney’s office handled the case. Garland, a family member, shared their concerns: “Multiple times we reached out to the DA about when the court was scheduled. They kept saying, ‘Nothing on the docket, nothing on the docket,’ until a couple weeks ago, we found out that they released him.”
The family was informed that the grand jury chose not to indict White due to a lack of evidence and a claim of self-defense. They are now questioning the thoroughness of the investigation and the handling of the case by local authorities.
Efforts to obtain a response from the district attorney’s office have so far been unsuccessful.
As the community mourns the loss of Ferdinand, her unborn child, and Rockingham, their loved ones continue to seek justice and accountability in the case.
