Kenneth Brown (Cook County Sheriff’s Office) and Maria Roque (WBBM screenshot)
A 44-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his 34-year-old ex-girlfriend last month, fatally shooting the Chicago mother in front of her two children just hours before a court extended a protection order against him.
Kenneth Brown was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of Maria Roque, Illinois authorities announced.
According to the Chicago Police Department, members of the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force on Dec. 29 located and apprehended Brown at an area located in the 3100 block of W. Harrison Street. Police said Brown was “identified as the offender” who, in the early morning hours of Dec. 13, shot and killed Roque in front of her home located in the 500 block of N. Long Avenue in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago’s West Side.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Brown one day before Roque’s death because he allegedly violated the protection order she had against him. That protection order was extended on Dec. 13, just hours after Roque was killed. Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that a protection order was issued on Nov. 7 and then extended on Nov. 28. The protection order was extended again on Dec. 13 and was set to last until Jan. 3, 2024.
The protection order was initially granted in November when Roque accused Brown of grabbing her and slamming her to the ground during an argument, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He also allegedly threatened to set Roque’s car on fire and destroy her personal possessions.
The order of protection reportedly prohibited Brown from having any contact with Roque and stated that he could not take their 8-year-old daughter or any pets out of Roque’s care.
Police reports cited by the Chicago Sun-Times said that Roque at about 6:20 a.m. on Dec. 13 was in front of her home and had just placed the daughter she shared with Brown into the back seat of a rental car. Then the suspect allegedly did the unthinkable.
When Roque spotted Brown approaching, she reportedly screamed and tried to run away. Instead, she suffered gunshot wounds to the shoulder, chest, and thumb, per the report.
Maria Roque’s twin brother Andres Roque previously told Chicago CBS affiliate WBBM that his sister’s violent death left him heartbroken.
“I want to cry,” he said in an on-camera interview. “I want to throw things, but I can’t.”
Andres Roque also told the station that Roque’s daughter as well as her 14-year-old son saw her die. The older boy even attempted to perform CPR on his mother, telling his uncle, “I tried to save her.”
“Me hearing my nephew cry and say, ‘I tried to save her,’” Andres Roque said. “One in the car, and one he heard the shot, and see his own mom on the stairs, trying to breathe.”
“That’s the most horrible,” he added.
Brown made his first court appearance on Sunday. A judge ordered him to remain in custody without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday, records show.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
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