CINCINNATI, Ohio — An Ohio man who killed a sheriff's deputy with his car hours after watching body-camera footage of his son being shot dead by police has been found guilty of murder, The Guardian reported on Friday, October 23. Rodney L. Hinton Jr., 40, was convicted of murder, reckless homicide and felonious assault in the death of Hamilton County Special Deputy Larry Henderson, at the end of a 10-day trial.

Source: The Guardian

WLWT and The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that jurors declined to convict Hinton of aggravated murder, and rejected his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, after deliberations that began on Wednesday. Hinton faces between 15 years and life in prison, with sentencing scheduled for November 16. His attorney, Clyde Bennett, said the defence plans to appeal, WLWT reported.

Source: WLWT / Cincinnati Enquirer

A son shot by police, a deputy killed the next day

The case began on May 1, 2025, when Cincinnati officers responding to a report of a stolen vehicle tried to detain four people; all four fled on foot, police said, and Ryan Hinton, 18, was shot and killed by an officer. A firearm was reportedly recovered at the scene, and Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich later determined the officer's use of deadly force was legally justified. The next morning, after viewing the body-camera footage of his son's death, Rodney Hinton drove into Henderson as the retired deputy, working a special assignment, directed traffic near the University of Cincinnati during graduation activities, Local 12 reported. Henderson had no involvement in Ryan Hinton's shooting, prosecutors argued.

Source: Local 12 (WKRC)

Hinton's lawyers argued he was so overwhelmed by grief that he could not distinguish right from wrong. Prosecutors argued he deliberately targeted Henderson: in closing arguments, Assistant Prosecutor Kate Burroughs said vehicle data showed the car accelerated from 0 to more than 43 mph within seconds with the accelerator pressed 93.3 percent, and that Hinton turned his wheel in the same direction Henderson moved to avoid the car, WLWT reported. The jury's verdict rejected the insanity defence.