Jury convicts Rodney Hinton Jr. of murder in deputy's death

Rodney Hinton Jr. in an orange jail uniform during a May 2025 court appearance; file image, not Friday’s verdict — Source: Fox News, 2025 file image

Summary

A Hamilton County jury found Hinton guilty of murder, two counts of felonious assault and two lesser-included counts of reckless homicide.
Jurors did not convict him of the two aggravated-murder counts originally charged; they rejected the insanity defense.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 16, and the defense says it intends to appeal.

What the jury decided

A Hamilton County, Ohio, jury found Rodney Hinton Jr. guilty Friday, Oct. 23, in the death of sheriff's Deputy Larry Henderson. The five findings require care in describing: jurors convicted him of murder, two counts of felonious assault and two counts of reckless homicide as lesser-included alternatives to aggravated murder. They did not return guilty verdicts on the two aggravated-murder charges originally brought. The verdict followed more than two days of deliberations after a trial centered on Hinton's state of mind.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

The Hamilton County prosecutor's original indictment accused Hinton of deliberately driving into Henderson on May 2, 2025. Henderson, a retired deputy serving a special traffic detail for University of Cincinnati graduation events, was struck near campus and died. The indictment was an allegation at the time; Friday's murder and assault findings are the jury's adjudication, while the lesser homicide findings reflect its choice not to convict on aggravated murder.^{[1] [2] [4]}

The arguments at trial

Prosecutors argued that Hinton saw a uniformed deputy and intentionally steered into him. Both sides acknowledged that Hinton's vehicle struck Henderson. Defense attorney Clyde Bennett argued that severe mental illness and the shock of watching body-camera video of Cincinnati police fatally shooting Hinton's adult son the previous day meant Hinton did not understand the wrongfulness of his actions. The defense also raised a theory that he may have been trying to crash into a pole and end his own life, recklessly causing the deputy's death instead of targeting him.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Jurors rejected the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense on the counts that resulted in convictions. Their split between murder on one count and reckless homicide in place of two aggravated-murder counts is legally more precise than a blanket description of an aggravated-murder conviction. The defense said after the verdict that it was disappointed and plans to appeal; an announced appeal is not itself a reversal of the jury's decision.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

What happens next

The death penalty had already been taken off the table before trial after mental-health evaluations and a judicial ruling, according to local reporting. The murder conviction carries a potential term of 15 years to life, but the final sentence and treatment of the remaining counts belong to the sentencing court. FOX19, WVXU and WLWT report that sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16 at 9 a.m.; Hinton has not yet been sentenced.^{[3] [4] [5]}

The case followed two distinct deaths: Cincinnati police shot Hinton's son on May 1, 2025, and Henderson was killed on May 2. The prosecutor's office later deemed the police shooting legally justified, a conclusion the family disputed. That separate determination does not decide the deputy case. Friday's news is the jury's verdict concerning Henderson; any appeal and the sentence remain ahead.^{[1] [3] [4] [5]}

Reporting sources

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