Background: The area of Saint Paul Street in Baltimore, Maryland, where the attack occurred (WBAL/YouTube). Inset top: Gregory Kenneth Turnipseed (Wylie Funeral Homes). Inset bottom: Kiannah Bonaparte (Baltimore City Booking Intake Center).
A woman in Maryland is accused of kicking a great-grandfather in the head during a parking dispute — leading to his death.
Kiannah Bonaparte, 49, is charged with first- and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, and reckless endangerment, according to Baltimore City Circuit Court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
However, she is expected to face an upgraded charge after the medical examiner ruled 71-year-old Gregory Turnipseed”s death a homicide, Baltimore NBC affiliate WBAL reported. Bonaparte appeared before a judge on Tuesday, with the victim’s family attending the proceedings.
On Oct. 17, 2025, Turnipseed — a 14-year veteran with the Baltimore City Department of Transportation — was walking on Saint Paul Street in Baltimore, Maryland, when he saw a car waiting for another vehicle to leave a parking space. He apparently approached the parked black Chevrolet SUV and told the driver that someone else was waiting for the spot.
A teenage girl who was sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV reportedly got out and punched Turnipseed in the head. The driver — alleged to be Bonaparte — also exited the vehicle and kicked the man in the head, officers with the Baltimore Police Department said.
Investigators said they believed the two suspects were mother and daughter.
Turnipseed was brought to a hospital where he had a brain bleed and had to have surgery, authorities said. He died the following month, on Nov. 26, 2025, according to his obituary, but apparently not before he identified Bonaparte as one of his attackers.
Bonaparte was arrested, and she is still being held in the Baltimore City Booking Intake Center. According to The Baltimore Banner, she rejected a plea deal before the latest development in the case. When she turned down an agreement regarding her current charges, prosecutors decided to pursue a more severe one.
It is unclear whether the teenage girl also faces charges in the alleged attack.
Turnipseed was described by his family and others as a beloved man and civil servant.
“Greg was a pleasing surprise, and I guess that is kind of representative of how he ended up, basically, in the situation that ended his life,” his friend, Donald Rainey, told WBAL. “He was trying to help, and he has always been that type of person.”
“It was a horrendous thing that she did to a very nice, loving person,” his cousin, Deborah Carrington, added. “It was very emotional seeing Miss Bonaparte today.”
The defendant is scheduled to return to court on Friday.
