Milwaukee mother strangled daughter to death, gets 25 years in prison
Henrietta Rogers
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee mother convicted of strangling her 10-year-old daughter to death was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday.
A jury found 48-year-old Henrietta Rogers guilty at trial in May of first-degree reckless homicide.
It happened in February 2022. The victim, 10-year-old Jada Clay, was found lifeless inside her home. Police said there was an argument between Rogers and Clay over braiding hair.
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Prosecutors said the act of strangling someone to death is a violently intimate offense and asked the judge for a heavier sentence: 30 years in prison. Rogers' defense attorney, on the other hand, argued for less time – saying Rogers suffers from a significant mental health challenge.
After hearing both arguments, Judge Mark Sanders sided with a heavier sentence. He said he was at a loss of words on the case.
"She was old enough to recognize what was happening, and that realization must have made her last moments some of the most terrible I can imagine," Sanders said in regard to the victim.
In addition to prison time, Rogers was sentenced to 15 years of extended supervision and ordered to undergo a mental health assessment during probation and to seek employment. She was given credit for time served.