The prosecution began its case against the man accused of killing a Hamilton County Sheriff's deputy by recounting the morning the deputy left for work.
The first witness to testify in Rodney Hinton Jr.'s murder trial, which began Oct. 5 with jury selection, was Deputy Larry Henderson's wife, Lori.
She described the last moments she would spend with her husband. On the morning of May 2, 2025, she was in their bedroom feeding their 1-month-old foster child. Henderson, wearing his sheriff’s uniform, walked over to her – and because she was holding the baby – delicately hugged her, saying, “I love you.”
Henderson then leaned in, kissed the child and walked out of the room.
Sometime after, he opened the bedroom door and again told his wife he loved
her.
“I said, ‘What, no hug?’” Lori Henderson recalled.
Larry Henderson walked over to his wife’s side of the bed and hugged her.
More than six hours later, around 1 p.m. on May 2, 2025, Henderson was killed near the University of Cincinnati, when Hinton, according to prosecutors, intentionally drove into him.
The key issue in the trial is Hinton’s mental state at the time. The 40-year-old has been diagnosed with multiple mental health conditions, but prosecutors say he knew right from wrong at the time of the crash. His attorneys have asked the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.
What the prosecution's witnesses have said
Over two and a half days of testimony, jurors heard from 16 witnesses.
Among the witnesses were Hinton’s aunt and cousin, who were following him in a car when the crash happened.
According to testimony, they followed Hinton because they were worried he might harm himself. The previous day, Hinton’s 18-year-old son, Ryan, had been fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer. The morning of the crash, Hinton and other family members met at police department offices in West End to watch body camera video of the shooting.
Hinton was described as being withdrawn, quiet and sad that day.
Hinton’s cousin, Monique Gilliam, testified that after the meeting, in the police building’s parking lot, Hinton told family members that he loved them and asked them to tell his children the same.
“I felt like he was bidding us farewell,” Gilliam said.
She and other family members decided they didn't want Hinton to drive his car. So Gilliam drove Hinton and their aunt to Findlay Market, then Gilliam’s home in Over-the-Rhine, where Hinton took a nap.
When Hinton woke up, he said he wanted to go home to see his wife and children. Gilliam said he seemed rested and that she was no longer worried he would harm himself.
Both Gilliam and Hinton’s aunt, Markita Robinson, testified that Hinton did not make any unusual statements or talk about seeing things or hearing voices.
Eyewitnesses describe crash
Gilliam, with Robinson also in her car, drove Hinton back to the police building parking lot, so he could pick up his car, a Ford Focus.
Soon after, Hinton was driving through Clifton, past Hughes High School. He turned right on Martin Luther King Drive near Burnet Woods. Gilliam and Robinson followed in a car behind him.
Traffic was heavy that day, a Friday, because UC graduation ceremonies were happening and students also were moving out.
Gilliam said she watched Hinton pull his car into the left turn lane, as if he intended to turn into Burnet Woods.
She tapped her car's horn and put her hands up, as if to say, "What are you doing?” she testified.
Hinton then accelerated straight to where Henderson was standing on a traffic island, near a light pole.
“My aunt and I immediately yelled, ‘No!’” Gilliam said.
Eyewitnesses described a horrific scene. One said Henderson was thrown 20 to 30 feet.
Maryland resident Patricia Povlitz, who was driving a U-Haul truck because she was helping her daughter move, said Hinton’s car hit the light pole first, then “bounced to the left” and struck Henderson.
One of Hinton’s attorneys, Clyde Bennett II, focused on Povlitz’s testimony, saying that Hinton could have been driving toward the pole, not Henderson.
Bennett also pointed to another eyewitness who testified that Hinton passed at least one other law enforcement officer before driving into Henderson.
In opening statements, Bennett described Hinton as an “unmedicated, psychotic, mentally ill man experiencing extreme grief” at the time of the crash.
Testimony is set to resume Tuesday, Oct. 13. The courthouse is closed Oct. 12 for the holiday.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Deputy's wife testifies, witnesses describe crash in Rodney Hinton trial
