Who Would Want to Murder Makeva Jenkins? The Killers Tried to Make It Look Like a Robbery

According to ABC News, Makeva Jenkins first met the man who would later become her husband at church. After their initial encounter, she told their pastor she "found someone she liked." Six years later, Makeva would be gunned down in the home she and Euri shared with their three children. "This didn't seem like your typical robbery," said one detective. "This was a murder-for-hire." What exactly happened to Makeva Jenkins? Here's what we know.

In June 2017, a pregnant Makeva was asleep in her Lantana, Fla., home when a single gunshot was fired, reported CBS12. "I was a couple of feet away. I aimed the gun at her head and I shot her," said Joevan Joseph while testifying in court. He told prosector Adrienne Ellis that he shot Makeva in the head because he was "trying to finish the job." He was not the only person involved in this heinous crime.

Demetri Dale also testified about his involvement in Makeva's death, telling the court that he was the person responsible for introducing Joseph to the person orchestrating the murder. Makeva's husband Euri told police that on the night she was killed, a "masked gunman forced the couple, a friend and their children at gunpoint, to go upstairs," per CBS12. Euri claimed he was able to convince the intruders to let his children go but was unable to stop them from shooting his wife.

A devastated Euri told the outlet that "I held her in my arms, she was alive. I will never forget." He added Makeva was a "good wife and good mom." Euri put on quite the show for the press. Five months later, he was indicted and charged with first-degree murder for his connection to the death of Makeva. It would later be revealed that his motivation was money from an insurance policy that Euri wasn't named in.

The Palm Beach Post reported that during Euri's trial, Dale told jurors he was asked by the defendant to find someone to kill his wife. "Joseph, 24, the confessed gunman, told jurors he shot and killed Makeva Jenkins after Euri paid him $10,000, with the intent of paying another $10,000 once the job was finished," per the outlet. Defense attorney Gregg Lerman claimed both Dale and Joseph were lying.

After Euri was found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2022, Lerman said, "It was clear that these two witnesses, these cooperating defendants, were the ones that committed this crime, caused it to happen and took the stand and perjured themselves." Lerman immediately filed an appeal, but in December 2023 the appeals court upheld Euri's conviction, per The Palm Beach Post.

Euri is serving a life sentence at Century Correctional Institution in Century, Fla. Once again, the testimony of the two witnesses was brought into question by Euri's attorneys. The appeal alleged that "prosecutors failed to build a robust case against him and instead presented a flimsy one, based exclusively on 'inconsistent statements' from two witnesses who, he noted, admitted to lying about their involvement early in the investigation," reported the Palm Beach Post. In a five-page decision, the appellate court said the testimonies of Dale and Joseph provided "substantial evidence" against Euri.