A Winton Hills man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and aggravated murder in the July 2025 shooting that killed 12-year-old Nehemiah McMillon and wounded another juvenile, after authorities said he chased down a car he believed had been stolen from outside his home and opened fire.
Darius McGrew, 31, admitted in court to the charges tied to the shooting, according to fox19.com. The station reported that McGrew “chased down” the vehicle after it was allegedly taken from in front of his Winton Hills home, then fired into it. McMillon was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died, per the same report. A second juvenile who was also struck later walked into Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the outlet noted.
McMillon was 12 years old at the time of the shooting, according to wcpo.com, which reported that his family has been left grieving the loss of their son. The outlet's headline pointed to lingering questions from relatives about why gunfire was used at all in response to a car theft.
How the Chase Unfolded
Court documents indicate the confrontation began when McGrew saw a group of people stealing a car in front of his house and went after them, according to wlwt.com. Police told the station that McGrew repeatedly fired into the car, striking two of the people inside — McMillon and the wounded teenager.
The case drew scrutiny from legal observers even before the plea. In comments to fox19.com last year, a legal expert compared the case to a similar incident in Delhi Township, where teenagers were charged with manslaughter after one member of a group involved in a smoke-shop break-in was killed — noting that all the teens involved in that break-in faced manslaughter charges as well.
Sentencing Range and Time Served
Under the terms discussed in court, McGrew faces 23 to 28 and one-half months in prison in connection with the shooting, fox19.com reported. The report also noted mandatory firearm-specification sentences attached to the charges — three years tied to the aggravated murder count and one year tied to the murder count. McGrew has already received 435 days of credit for time served, according to the same account.
A separate report from WKRC described McGrew as pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault charges, differing from fox19.com's account of murder and aggravated murder pleas. The discrepancy between the two accounts of which charges McGrew admitted to could not be resolved from available records.
What the final sentence handed down by the court will be, and how the mandatory firearm specifications factor into McGrew's total time behind bars, remains unclear from the information reported so far. Nehemiah McMillon's death has left his Winton Hills community and family searching for answers about a routine neighborhood dispute over a stolen car that ended with a child's life cut short.
