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Cedar Rapids revenge murder brings life sentence
‘Kenyauta has so many lives that he’s touched,’ victim’s mother tells court
Apr. 18, 2025 5:40 pm, Updated: Apr. 22, 2025 8:47 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Family members of Kenyauta Vesey-Keith, murdered in 2023 by Denzel Wilson outside a Cedar Rapids bar and grill, gathered in a courtroom Friday with homemade signs to support Vesey-Keith’s mother and sister, who spoke during Wilson’s sentencing hearing.
Wilson, 25, was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in February, and was sentenced Friday to life in prison — the only sentence allowed for a first-degree murder charge under Iowa law.
Wilson shot and killed Vesey-Keith on June 11, 2023, in what prosecutors said was a gang-related act of revenge. Vesey-Keith had killed 21-year-old Brandon Johnson — a fellow gang member of Wilson’s — in 2016, but a jury acquitted him after his defense argued it was in self-defense.
On the night of his murder, Vesey-Keith walked past Wilson outside Poppa N Tommyz, 1323 First Ave. SE, and multiple witnesses testified at the trial that they saw Wilson pull out a gun and shoot Vesey-Keith.
While the jury found Wilson guilty of first-degree murder, it acquitted him of a charge of going armed with intent. Before the trial, he pleaded guilty to another charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced Friday to five years in prison on that charge, which will run concurrently.
Before the sentencing, 6th Judicial District Judge Justin Lightfoot denied a motion for a new trial from Wilson’s defense team. His attorney said the defense did not have enough time before the trial to review potential pieces of evidence.
Vesey-Keith’s mother, Saresa Keith, and his sister, Kenessa Keith, both gave victim impact statements before Wilson was sentenced. Both talked about the great loss their family has felt since his death.
“Kenyauta has so many lives that he’s touched,” Saresa said in her statement. explaining that while she had expected to see negative comments about her son’s death on social media, she was surprised by the number of people she didn’t know who reached out to say that he had impacted their lives for the better.
“I am thankful that we always ended our conversations with ‘I love you,’ so he definitely knew I loved him, and I knew the same,” Saresa said.
During Saresa’s statement, she asked some of her family members who had come to support to hold up posters they had brought, which had photos of Vesey-Keith at different points in his life.
“He didn’t deserve to be shot in the face and the back multiple times and left there to bleed out. Just as I would say no one, including you, Denzel, deserves to be shot in the face and the back multiple times and left there to bleed out,” Saresa told Wilson during her statement.
Wilson’s face remained neutral throughout the sentencing, not reacting visibly. Both Saresa and Kenessa said in their statements that Wilson’s family members have taunted them and their family about the death during and after the trial.
“I hope your parents realize what kind of son they have raised. … I hope you realize how selfish of a person you are,” Kenessa told Wilson during her statement.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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