Rochester began 2023 with six homicides. Here's where the cases stand
Rochester started off the new year with six homicides - making it the deadliest January in years.
The deaths have included a 70-year-old man stabbed to death by his son, the beating death of a baby boy, a woman killed in an early morning car crash and three separate fatal shootings.
Rochester saw 76 homicides in 2022 and 81 homicides in 2021, when the Flower City had the fifth-highest homicide rate in the nation.
The deaths last month tripled the January homicides from 2021, when two people were killed that same month. In January 2022, four people were slain within city limits. On average, three people were slain in Rochester in Januarys over the last 10 years. The highest January tally since 2014 was six - a total that occurred last month and in 2016, the year four people were shot to death in a Leighton Avenue apartment before the house was torched. The following year, in 2017, zero homicides took place in Rochester in January.
The city is currently averaging a slaying every 5.1 days in 2023, a pace that's behind of rate of the past two years.
Here is a look at where each case stands.
Charlaura Lockhart
Charlaura Lockhart, 33, of Rochester was killed in a car crash early on New Year's Day. Her sister Jellia Lockhart, 29, of Rochester was charged with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident, among other charges, in connection with Charlaura's death.
Jellia Lockhart, who was allegedly driving on a revoked license, is accused of speeding on Hazelwood Terrace, passed a vehicle on the left, striking the second vehicle and then a tree. Charlaura Lockhart was pronounced dead at the scene. Court documents allege that her sister fled on foot then later lied about the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Sideic Robinson
A 19-year-old Burger King employee, Sideic Robinson was shot to death inside the Burger King restaurant at 560 Lyell Ave. around 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 14 as he was leaving work for the night, according to Rochester police.
Police in mid-January said it appeared Robinson was targeted, but did not share a motive into the killing. No charges have been filed and an investigation into his death is ongoing.
More: Loved ones mourn Burger King employee who was shot and killed in Rochester after work
A'mias Love
The youngest homicide victim of the year, one-year-old A'mias Love died on Jan. 24, several days after he was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The boy's mother, Bryasia Love, 26, of Rochester, is accused of subjecting her son to "physical abuse by blunt force," which resulted in skull fractures, damage to his liver and right lung, severe damage to his eyes and bruising on his head, neck and chest. She is also charged with second-degree assault and accused of physically abusing her two-year old daughter, who survived and is being cared for by her grandmother.
According to court documents, Love was the children's sole caregiver and lived with them in a Joseph Ave. apartment where the abuse occurred on Jan. 19. Police allege that she delayed seeking medical treatment for her son for four hours.
More: Tensions high in court as mother pleads not guilty to killing her 1-year-old son
Michael Mathis
A man acquitted of murder in a triple homicide at the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester in 2015 was shot and killed in a parking lot in Rochester's East End bar district on Jan. 21.
Michael Mathis, 25, of Gates was shot to death in the parking lot at East Avenue and North Union Street around 11:40 p.m. No charges have been filed in connection with the killing.
Charles Marshall
Charles Marshall, 70, of Rochester was fatally stabbed during a domestic dispute with his son at his Dayton Street home around 9:40 p.m. on Jan. 25. Detric Marshall, 39, who was living with his father, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the killing.
Earl Thomas
Earl Thomas, 29, of Rochester was shot several times in the upper body on around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 on Culver Road near Merchants Road. He was taken by private vehicle to Rochester General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Robert Broomfield, 23, of Rochester was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Thomas' death. Police did not share details regarding the circumstances of the killing.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester NY homicides 2023: Where each case stands so far
