The wife of fallen Hamilton County Deputy Larry Henderson is suing the family of his alleged killer, according to new court documents.
Lorena Henderson has filed a lawsuit in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court claiming that Rodney Hinton Jr. and his family benefited from Hinton’s alleged crime by crowdfunding money for his criminal defense and other family expenses. Anna Booker-Hinton, the wife of Rodney Hinton Jr., created a fundraiser on GiveSendGo that raised over $50,000 to help support Hinton’s legal fees and their two children.
“I am now trying to provide a stable, secure environment for our children as we navigate this nightmare,” wrote Booker-Hinton in the fundraiser description.
The main fundraisers associated with helping Hinton Jr.’s legal fees have raised approximately $100,000. However, Zachary Gottesman, the attorney representing Henderson’s family, expressed doubt the money is being used for criminal defense during a May 20 press conference, but cited no evidence.
According to court documents filed Monday, the lawsuit claims the funds raised through GiveSendGo used Rodney Hinton Jr.’s “public status and notoriety gained solely through his criminal act of killing Deputy Henderson.” The lawsuit characterizes the fundraising effort as a “malicious civil conspiracy in violation of Ohio’s well-established public policy.”
Rodney Hinton Jr. has been charged with aggravated murder for allegedly hitting and killing Henderson with a vehicle on May 2. Henderson was working a special traffic detail on Martin Luther King Drive outside a University of Cincinnati graduation ceremony at the time of the crash. Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said Rodney Hinton Jr. intentionally drove his car into Henderson hours after viewing footage of his oldest son, Ryan Hinton, being fatally shot by a Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) officer. Ryan Hinton was killed on May 1 while fleeing CPD officers during a stolen car investigation. Pillich said the unnamed CPD officer was justified when he shot Ryan Hinton five times because the officer believed he pointed a gun at him.
The unidentified officer received no charges in connection with Ryan Hinton’s death. Pillich’s office is seeking the death penalty for Rodney Hinton Jr.
The act of a person profiting off of their own violent crime story is illegal in Ohio, as directed by “Son of Sam” laws. So far, this kind of law does not prohibit raising money for legal funds, but Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced May 20 that he was looking into ways to ban crowdfunding for criminal defense, as several fundraisers for Hinton Jr. sought to do on GiveSendGo.
GiveSendGo previously told CityBeat that the company would address the state’s concerns with “responsibility and with compassion,” adding that fundraising falls under free-speech protections.
“Our prayers are with the family of Deputy Henderson,” GiveSendGo said in May. “This is an incredibly tragic situation, and we do not take the weight of it lightly. At the same time, we continue to follow our legal obligations and platform policies.”
“We believe these campaigns fall under First Amendment protections, which include freedom of speech, expression, and association,” GiveSendGo added. “These rights exist to protect all people, especially in difficult and divisive moments. Protecting those freedoms ensures that justice can be pursued without silencing the voices of individuals or communities.”
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This article appears in Jul 9-22, 2025.