A Chicago church community is reeling after prosecutors accused deacon Eddie Jenkins of killing his estranged wife, Kiara Jenkins, outside her Woodlawn home before taking their five children to church.
According to CBS News Chicago, Eddie Jenkins, 45, was arrested in Douglass Park and charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the January 18 killing of Kiara Jenkins, 36, in the city’s Woodlawn neighborhood. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer and carrying a concealed firearm in a park facility.
Kiara was shot near 64th Street and Drexel Avenue while she was reportedly heading to church in January. ABC7 Chicago reported that the couple shared five children, ranging in age from a college freshman to a 10-year-old child, and that Eddie was ordered held pending trial after appearing in court on Wednesday, July 1.
Prosecutors allege Eddie drove to Kiara’s home in the early morning hours of January 18 and shot her seven times before returning home and taking their children to church. According to the outlet, friends became concerned because Kiara was usually at church early every Sunday morning, but Eddie arrived with the children without her. Kiara usually arrived at church around 5 a.m. on Sundays to help prepare. Per CBS News Chicago, she had gone out with friends the night before and was dropped off at her Drexel Avenue home around 2 a.m. Prosecutors alleged Eddie left his home shortly before 4 a.m., drove a white Buick Enclave to the area, parked about a block away, and walked toward the back of Kiara’s home.
Neighbors reported hearing a man and woman arguing before gunshots rang out. Prosecutors said the woman accused the man of cheating, then neighbors heard multiple gunshots and a woman crying out in pain. A man prosecutors say appeared to be Eddie was captured on video leaving the scene.
The allegations surrounding Kiara’s final hours are especially disturbing because prosecutors say Eddie Jenkins went back home, woke up the children, and took them to church. Friends of Kiara noticed she was missing, found it odd that Eddie was there with all the children, and went to check on her after church. When they knocked and got no answer, they went around the property and found her lying on the ground in the backyard with gunshot wounds.
Those friends called 911 and then called Eddie. Prosecutors allege Eddie asked for a video call and took a screenshot of Kiara lying on the ground. Prosecutors said Kiara was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot multiple times in the abdomen, once in the left eye, and once in the leg, back, and thigh.
The case also raises serious questions about what happened after the initial shots were reported. An off-duty Chicago police officer who lived on the block called 911 at 4:54 a.m. after hearing at least five gunshots near 64th and Drexel. It was widely reported that the officer told dispatchers the shots came from the alley and even provided a badge number, but Kiara Jenkins’ body was not found until about 10 hours later.
Police said officers responded and closed out the shots fired call at 5:08 a.m., but neighbors questioned whether officers actually went through the alley where Kiara Jenkins was later found. Several neighbors told the outlet that cameras in the alley would have captured a police vehicle if one had driven through the area between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Court details reported by multiple outlets point to a troubling history between the estranged couple. Court documents show Kiara was planning to get a divorce and that there was a history of domestic violence. Eddie and Kiara married in 2009 and lived together until Kiara moved into an apartment on Drexel Avenue in January 2025. Prosecutors also alleged that this was the second time Kiara had moved out because of Eddie’s controlling behavior.
The couple’s custody arrangement varied among the children, with some living primarily with Kiara and one child staying with Eddie. Investigators said the couple’s twin daughters stayed exclusively at Kiara’s home after a January 2025 altercation with their father left them feeling unsafe and prompted them to call police.
Eddie had been arrested in 2009 after being accused of strangling Kiara, and he was arrested again in 2011 after being accused of striking her and pushing her against a wall. Both cases were later dismissed. According to the outlet, Kiara was granted an emergency order of protection in March 2018, but later moved to vacate it after Eddie filed for divorce and then dropped the divorce case.
Kiara permanently moved out in December 2025 after another altercation, and she later told her sister she was preparing to file for divorce. According to CBS News Chicago, prosecutors also alleged that in September 2025, Eddie appeared at Kiara’s home dressed in black with his hood up and confronted her about a trip to Atlanta with friends.
Eddie’s defense has pushed back on prosecutors’ allegations. Assistant Public Defender Eleanor Roos argued there was no evidence proving Eddie was the person who drove the Buick to Kiara’s home in January and no forensic evidence linking him to the killing. Roos also said Eddie was cooperative after being notified that his wife had been shot and called the allegations of an escalating pattern of abuse “ridiculous.”
Eddie was a deacon, usher, and choir member at the church he attended with Kiara and their children, and he also worked as a mechanic. His next court date is scheduled for July 22.
