Surveillance video, witness accounts and the family’s Sunday routine helped investigators build the case against Eddie Jenkins, according to prosecutors.

CHICAGO, Ill. — A Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder more than five months after his estranged wife was found fatally shot behind her Woodlawn home, where prosecutors say neighbors heard the couple arguing before a series of gunshots early on a Sunday morning.

Eddie Jenkins, 45, is accused of killing 36-year-old Kiara Jenkins on Jan. 18 and then returning home to take their children to church. A judge ordered him detained while the case proceeds. Jenkins, who has not been convicted, is also charged with two misdemeanors related to an alleged attempt to flee police and possession of a concealed firearm in a park. His public defender has challenged the state’s evidence, arguing that prosecutors have not proved he was the person shown in neighborhood surveillance recordings.

The prosecution’s account begins late on Jan. 17, when Kiara Jenkins spent the evening with friends. They dropped her off at her apartment in the 6400 block of South Drexel Avenue at about 2 a.m., prosecutors said during a detention hearing. Kiara and Eddie Jenkins had married in 2009 and had five children, but they were living apart. Prosecutors said she had told her sister that she was preparing to file for divorce. Members of the family and many of Kiara’s friends attended the same church, where she normally arrived around 5 a.m. Sundays to help prepare for services.

Shortly before 4 a.m. on Jan. 18, prosecutors allege, Eddie Jenkins left his home in a white Buick Enclave and drove toward Kiara’s apartment. Rather than parking directly outside, he allegedly stopped about a block away and continued on foot. Security cameras recorded the Buick in the area and captured a person moving through an alley near the back of the property, according to the account presented in court. Prosecutors said several witnesses who knew Jenkins later identified him in video collected during the investigation.

People living nearby reported hearing a man and woman arguing outside. According to prosecutors, the woman said the man had cheated and told him to leave. Witnesses also described hearing the man shout insults before multiple gunshots broke the early-morning quiet. A woman could then be heard groaning, prosecutors said. Cameras allegedly recorded a man running through the alley toward the place where the Buick had been parked. The vehicle then left the neighborhood. Police have not publicly released the full recordings or a detailed forensic report explaining how each piece of video was authenticated.

Prosecutors allege Eddie Jenkins returned home after the shooting and woke the children who were staying with him. The night before, he had arranged for four of the children to be together at his home, an arrangement one of the children described as unusual, according to the state’s presentation. The oldest child was away at college. Jenkins then took the children to church, arriving earlier than he normally did and without Kiara, whose absence stood out because she was usually among the first people at the building on Sunday mornings.

Friends initially expected Kiara to appear, but their concern grew as the morning passed. Two of them eventually left the church and went to her apartment. After receiving no answer at the door, they walked around the property and found her outside near the alley. They called 911 and contacted Eddie Jenkins, prosecutors said. During a video call, he allegedly asked to see what they had found and saved an image showing Kiara on the ground. Authorities have not explained publicly what significance they assign to the image or whether it was later recovered from a device.

Kiara Jenkins had suffered several gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Prosecutors described the injuries in court but did not publicly identify the gun used in the killing. Seven cartridge casings were reportedly recovered from the area. The Cook County medical examiner’s findings and the physical evidence became part of an investigation that continued for months without an announced arrest. Police said Kiara’s car, purse and identification remained at the property, giving investigators no immediate reason to believe robbery was the central purpose of the shooting.

Investigators also examined the family’s movements before the homicide, earlier police contacts and the couple’s living arrangements. Prosecutors said Kiara had moved away from her husband after describing him as controlling. They also cited two earlier domestic battery arrests involving accusations against Eddie Jenkins. One occurred in 2009, when he was accused of choking her, and another followed in 2011, when he was accused of striking her and pushing her against a wall. Those cases did not result in convictions, and the later matter was dismissed. The allegations remain separate from the pending murder prosecution.

Prosecutors said Kiara obtained an emergency protection order in 2018 but later asked that it be withdrawn after Eddie filed for divorce and then abandoned the divorce case. She moved into the Drexel Avenue apartment in January 2025, according to the state. The couple’s children did not all follow the same living arrangement. Prosecutors said their twin daughters stayed with Kiara after an altercation with their father led them to feel unsafe and call police. One younger child remained primarily with Eddie, while another stayed with Kiara.

The state also pointed to an encounter in September 2025, when prosecutors say Eddie Jenkins appeared outside Kiara’s apartment dressed in black and confronted her about a planned trip to Atlanta. By November, Kiara had told her sister that she intended to seek a divorce and had begun gathering paperwork, prosecutors said. No publicly available filing shows that the divorce was completed before her death. Prosecutors have used those events to describe a worsening separation, though they have not publicly identified a specific statement or document proving a motive for the shooting.

The investigation produced another confrontation on Jan. 29. Officers attempted to stop Jenkins while he was driving the Buick, but prosecutors say he accelerated away as police approached. He was not arrested that day. On June 29, investigators located the same vehicle near Douglass Park on Chicago’s West Side and watched the area before taking him into custody as he approached the Buick. Police said he was carrying a 9 mm handgun in the park. Prosecutors said the weapon was not the firearm used to kill Kiara Jenkins, and they have not announced that the homicide weapon has been recovered.

At the detention hearing, Assistant Public Defender Eleanor Roos argued that the prosecution had overstated its case. She said the video did not establish that Jenkins was the person who drove the Buick or appeared near Kiara’s home. The defense also emphasized that prosecutors had not presented DNA, fingerprints, ballistics or other forensic evidence directly linking him to the shooting. Roos said Jenkins cooperated after learning that his wife had been killed and rejected the prosecution’s description of an escalating history of abuse. The factual disputes will be tested as evidence is exchanged and motions are filed.

Cook County Judge Deidre Dyer ordered Jenkins held while awaiting trial after considering the allegations and the state’s request for detention. A first-degree murder charge is an accusation and does not establish guilt. No trial date has been publicly announced, and the available reports do not show that Jenkins has entered a plea. The case now moves through pretrial proceedings, where prosecutors will be required to turn over evidence and prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt if it reaches a jury.

Author note: Last updated July 30, 2026.